


The Fine Print

by yersifanel



Category: The Avengers (2012), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Abuse, Contracts, Dubious Morality, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-09
Updated: 2013-03-02
Packaged: 2017-11-18 06:31:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 31,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/557933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yersifanel/pseuds/yersifanel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bound by contract to serve the Stark bloodline, Loki emerges after Tony calls for him in the Afghanistan desert.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story has not been read by a beta, because sadly I couldn’t find someone with free time to help me out at the moment so all mistakes are my own. English is not my first language, so you will find mistakes here and there; sorry for the inconvenience.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **EDIT:** Thank you to my awesome beta, Renastar, for helping me with this chapter!

\---------------  
Introduction  
\---------------

Tony has the Ansuz rune, reversed, tattooed on the inside of his left wrist. 

His father made him get that tattoo when he was thirteen and his mother fully supported the notion, she even contacted a special tattoo artist to do the job, to Tony's utter confusion. The rune was simple and small, inked in black and easily hidden under his cuffs or his wristwatch. 

It was not as if he had never seen the rune before. His father had the same tattoo in the same place and his grandfather had it too. The only difference was that the outline of Howard's was a dark green color while the filling was black. 

Tony contemplated the tattoo for days to no end when he first got it, resisting the urge to scratch the area and making faces, trying to understand why it was so important for him to have such mark on his body. 

He figured it had something to do with Loki, his father's PA and Tony's caretaker. Because Loki had the same rune tattooed in his skin, the difference was that he had it in both his wrists and along with others, making it look like he was wearing bracelets. 

Loki has been working for his family since Tony could remember. He speaks way too elaborately, according to Tony; his eyes are very green and sometimes said more than his words. He always had a calm demeanor and Maria claimed he was far too patient with all of them. 

Tony wasn't a called genius for nothing. He knew something was not normal in Loki, he had know this since he was a kid, because it was very obvious. 

Loki had the power to make things happen; normal people didn't have that. Loki could make green sparkles out of thin air to make Tony giggle when he had previously been crying; not even his mother could do that. Loki had taken a bullet for Tony's father and gotten better in days, normal people definitely couldn't do that. 

It was a shame that when Tony finally learned the full extent of what Loki could and would do for them, he was too blind to see the importance of such thing. 

Loki had the power of Fire and Ice. Loki possessed skills beyond imagination. He was a shape shifter, a sorcerer, a descendant of gods of the old days, the living proof that myths and legends were in fact alive. 

Loki was bound by contract to serve the Stark blood line, however they pleased. 

At one point, Tony had been too arrogant to fully see and accept the consequences of his actions; for that reason when he abused his power over Loki, more than once, he did so without so much a second thought. And Loki just took it, which made Tony furious. 

He didn't understand how such a creature could just take it. He the power literally at his fingertips and he just wouldn't use it. Tony couldn't make sense of that. 

His mistake was to assume Loki didn't want to fight back. He had been too blind to see the look full of hurt and betrayal that Loki gave him every time he over stepped his boundaries and plain abused Loki's servitude towards him. 

Tony should have known how important his role in the whole situation was, how much effect his attitude had, but he didn't think about it, so he complete ignored how he was responsible for Loki at some level. It mattered because Howard had passed away years ago and the rune tattooed in Tony's wrist now had the green outline Howard's used to have, the problem was that Tony ignored it. 

Things changed, and not for the better. 

When Loki started to fight back, to speak his mind and to state that Tony was walking a dangerous path, the young CEO - so full of himself - refused to listen. 

Tony pushed him away instead, literally isolating Loki in a dark place because he had dared speak the truth to Tony's face. 

The look Loki gave him as he was being bound and trapped by the darkness Tony had commanded haunted him for many nights afterwards, yet he refused to acknowledge it. 

It wasn't until death was chasing him that Tony finally admitted his erroneous path and pushed away his pride to recognize his wrongdoing. 

Tony made a terrible mistake when he pushed away the person that had know him since he was a child. The worst part was that he did so for no good reason, he had hurt and severely damaged his relationship with the one that once had been his indisputable protector – Not because Tony had earn that right but because he had inherit such privilege.

He had been stupid enough to underestimate that protection; now he knew better. He needed Loki, now more than ever. 

Some part of his mind hissed that all this could have been prevented if he had just listened in first place. 

That voice was right and it hurt as much as the shrapnel embedded in his chest. 

 

\---------------  
Part I  
\---------------

Anthony "Tony" Edward Stark was about to die, or at least it feels that way. 

The cave was in the past now, so was Yinsen's death, it hurt so much to think that a good man had given his life for him. If Yinsen had known him better he would have known that Tony didn't deserve his sacrifice. But it was done and now he had to make the best of it. 

Maybe if he could make himself worth of that sacrifice - at least a little - it would hurt less. 

He stared at the sun above him and suppressed the urge to scream. 

The desert was taking the last of his strength, soon everything would be over if he didn't win the fight against the desert. He couldn't let that happen, he wouldn't give up now that he had escaped the hell that was that cave. 

"Damn it..." 

He felt faint, the end chasing him close now, just as he had learned about the wrongs that his inventions had created and how cruel and merciless the world could be. 

Yinsen's sacrifice would be worthless then. 

"No..." He fell onto the sand and gritted his teeth, "Not here, not like this!" 

Tony punched the sand and after a fit of rage and frustration, a spark, an image came to his mind, an image that he had been trying to remember while he was trapped in the cave, but had forgotten. For all his genius, he couldn’t remember the one thing that could have saved Yinsen. He couldn't forgive himself for that. 

Now the image was back in his mind, he might as well do it, live up to Yinsen's expectations, or at least try. 

He remain kneeled and very still as the sun burned his skin, blinking slowly as he muttered the words and traced symbols - runes - in the sand and closed his eyes, if this didn't work, then he was done. 

His father's words were echoing in the back of his mind: "A contract must be kept. This contract goes beyond you and me." 

It felt like ages ago that he first saw those symbols and now he was drawing them again. 

A soft, cool breeze swirled around him and he laughed, "A contract must be kept... eh." 

There was darkness and there was cold and a shadow that just a moment ago had not been there. Tony could have laughed if he wasn't so close to breaking. 

The world shifted and a green glow covered him as a silhouette took form, kneeling in front of him. The cold hand touching his face was familiar; he didn't know he had missed this until now. 

"You are such a fool," the voice had not changed. He remembered that very same voice talking to him to no end when he was a child, "Look at you, barely alive..." 

Tony had expected anger, shouting, maybe even rejection, but not this. The soft caring touch was just another remainder of how much of a failure he was, how much he had failed those few that cared for him. 

He couldn't take it. 

"I'm alive," Tony hissed and snapped his eyes open to glare at green ones, "I survived this, even without you." 

"You did," the man covered in the green glow nodded, "That made you stronger, yes?" 

Stronger... Tony didn't know. He felt at his lowest right now. 

"Just... are they looking for me? Rhodey?" 

There was a second of silence and Tony could heard how the supernatural being in front of him murmured under his breath, his brow furrowed in concentration and then a small smile adorned his lips. 

"He is," The man cladded in black and silver clothes brushed his fingers all over Tony's face, green sparks caressing his skin and healing cuts and bruises, "Shall I guide him here?" 

Tony almost pushed him, almost. 

"I'm not in the mood for your games, Loki," Tony hissed, "Yes! I wanna go home!" 

Loki blinked slowly, unimpressed, and Tony silently cursed himself. Loki had done nothing wrong yet he was bearing the brunt of Tony's frustration, as always. 

Tony huffed; he was still human scum, not worthy of Yinsen's sacrifice, not worthy of Loki's care. 

Loki eyed him for a moment before closing his eyes and muttered something under his breath, forming a black and green magpie on his hand and letting it fly. 

"It's done." 

He stood and was about to fade when Tony took a hold of his tunic and yanked him down again. 

"No, don't leave!" Tony's hands were trembling, "Don't leave!" 

Loki frowned but nodded slowly, "Something is... different." 

Tony wasn't listening; he was so close to a panic attack that he forgot that Loki had not seen him in a long time; and not for lack of trying, but because Tony wouldn’t let him. 

But that was not the problem right now. 

"I'm sorry," Tony repeated, "For everything, for what I did to you, I... I made a mistake." 

Loki blinked several times; watching as the man he was bound to serve broke down. This was an aspect of Anthony he didn't know; this was not the same man that forced him to remain in his pocket dimension since a few years ago. Something that not even Howard Stark in his annoying full moods had done. 

"Tony?" Loki asked carefully, his fingers resting over the makeshift arc reactor, feeling what was underneath, "By the Norns..." 

"I just want to go home..." 

He was close to tears now. Exhausted, hurt and so very tired. Tony didn't care anymore; he just wanted to leave that desert. 

Loki's left hand rested over his arc reactor while his other was slowly brushing his hair and Tony felt the calm he needed so much wash over him. 

"You will." 

Loki heard the noise of the helicopters getting closer, he had to retire for them to find his charge, but as if Tony had read his intent he took a hold of his hand tightly enough to hurt. 

"Don't leave, that's an order." 

His voice was strong again, but there was something about to break behind it. Something Loki didn't know how to deal with, at least not yet. 

"You cannot explain my presence here, I have not been seen by your side in years," Loki tried to reason with him but his statement was not well received. He winced when Tony's nails dug painfully in his skin, "Tony—" 

"Make yourself visible just to me," Tony's voice held a mixture of fear and anger, "But don't leave." 

"You are hurting me." 

"What?" 

"My hand." 

Tony's eyes drifted from Loki's hand to his own, holding his bond entity’s and abruptly let go. He looked even more confused than before, not sure what to say, but when he carefully tried to wipe the small trails of blood with his dirty hands Loki knew that something was more than damaged in his charge. 

"I... I'm such an idiot, I'm sorr—" 

"I won't leave," Loki interrupted, "As you requested." 

"Hum... Thank you?" Loki shrugged, fluttering his eyes shut. 

Something shifted in the air and Tony saw as he became almost translucent, but still visible to the head of Stark Industries. 

Loki wasn't used to Tony being so out of control of his own emotions. He didn't know this man and that confused him, but he would try and know him again. 

It was his duty, after all. 

Loki had known each and every member of the Stark bloodline since their origins, even when they used to have a different name that wasn’t obviously related to Tony’s. It was the blood, not the name, that he recognized. 

Each member of the Stark family related by blood to his original contractor bear his rune and the one with the green outline was the person he recognized as his maximum authority, his master. 

It always left a sour taste in his mouth to remember that. 

Over the years he had come to like those in charge; maybe that had been his mistake. He couldn't help it, Howard Stark Sr. had been a man he had actually respected and Howard Stark Jr., for all his flaws and mistakes, had been important to him. 

Tony... Tony had been dear to him too and that only made everything worse when things fell apart. 

He was still concerned for Tony's safety, it remained his priority even now, when he was seeing the sunlight for the first time in years, even when he was beyond furious with Tony for the circumstances of their last encounter. 

Loki cared, that was his main weakness. 

The sorcerer was glad when James "Rhodey" Rhodes ran towards them, Loki's magpie on his shoulder. 

"How was the fun-vee?" Rhodey's good mood was well received, even when Tony was close to tears, "Next time you ride with me." 

Loki flicked into view as Tony leaned his forehead on Rhodey's shoulder. The soldier nodded at him in acknowledgement. Loki remained expressionless as he extended his hand for his magpie to return to him and fade. He nodded towards Rhodey and flicked out of common view again, just for Tony and Rhodey to see him. 

Rhodey was giving him a questioning look, he had not seen him in years after all, but Loki did not have much to say. He hadn’t been there before to protect Tony because Tony himself had made that impossible for him years ago, but now... Now was different.

Loki felt Rhodey would talk to him later, for now his - their - main concern was Tony. The soldier helped Tony get up and Loki placed his hand on Tony's lower back. 

"Come on, let's take you home." 

\--- 

Once Tony got a medical checkup, a shower and got himself into a decent suit, he boarded the plane that would take him back home at last. As soon as there was just him and Rhodey, Tony spoke up. 

"Loki." 

The trickster came into view with no preamble. His deadpanned expression made Tony flinch, his posture - one hand holding the opposite wrist over his lap and feet aligned with his shoulders - reminded him too much of a soldier. The relational part of his mind was telling him that this was because Loki had, in fact, been a soldier in the past. Of course he would look like one from time to time. 

"Hey man!" Rhodey ignored the awkward atmosphere and greeted Loki with genuine kindness. "Long time no see!" 

Loki couldn't help but smile. James was one of the few people Tony had introduced Loki to completely. He knew about his mystical nature and how his presence in the material world worked, more or less. 

"Colonel." Loki's small smile gave Tony nostalgia. He suppressed the urge to say something about it. 

"James or Rhodey, you already know that, Loki." The pilot pointed out and Loki's smile grew a little, "Can you help him out? He was a pain for doctors to deal with." 

"Excuse me for not wanting people poking me with needles." Tony mumbled under his breath. 

"Yes, of course." Loki kneeled in front of Tony and ran his fingers over Tony's arm. The case was new and it would be uncomfortable later. 

"The press is going to be there..." Tony said in a small voice, "It has to look convincing." 

"I'm going to make it look as a sprain instead of a broken bone," Loki commented casually and closed his eyes as a green glow spread from his fingers over Tony's arm. 

Tony closed his eyes as well. Rhodey was telling Loki all he had missed since they last he saw the trickster. Tony was grateful that he didn't ask Loki why he disappeared; he suspected Rhodey had known all along that Tony was the cause. He was right. 

"Better?" Loki's voice reached his ears and Tony opened his eyes, "Yes?" 

"Yeah, much better." 

Loki's hand was still over his arm and Tony quickly moved to place his own free hand over them to prevent him from taking them away. Loki gave him a questioning look for a minute, but when Tony remained silent, Loki slipped his blank mask over his face as he listen Rhodey talk. 

He had missed important things, but not as many as he had expected. 

Tony noticed the way Loki's fingers twitched when Rhodey mentioned events related to Tony's lack of self-preservation, even minor incidents. Tony had no idea what might be going through the trickster's mind at the moment; he couldn't help but wonder. 

"Hey," Rhodey's hand came to rest on Loki's shoulder, and the supernatural being raised his head, still resting on his haunches in front of Tony. 

"Yes?" 

"It’s good to have you back." 

Tony was very sure Rhodey had no idea how much those words pained him, and even more so because Tony was very aware he deserved to be pointed at and yelled at and yet no one was doing it. 

Rhodey left them alone to talk with the pilot. Tony let go of Loki's hand and the trickster got up silently and dusted off his pants. 

"Why aren't you angry with me?" Tony needed to know. 

"I am furious, Anthony," he got a reaction, a glare. Tony couldn't believe he was glad to see Loki glaring at him, "But it has not mattered before, why should it now?" 

"It does matter!" Tony hissed, "It’s just, I, I— shit, I'm so bad at this!" 

Loki sat beside him, one eye brow rose, "What do you want?" 

"You won't leave?" 

Loki's eye twitched, "You know I can't." 

"But you don't want to?" Tony swallowed, "If you want I could—" 

"Don't say it." Loki didn't actually snap, but it felt that way to Tony. "Don't make promises you can't keep." 

"But I could—!" 

"No, you can't." Loki said firmly, "Now, tell me what you want." 

Tony looked at him in the eye, something was broken behind them, and Loki could see it. 

"I want another chance," Tony's words were just above a whisper, "I... the last few weeks have been a living hell Loki and I... I just realized how much damage I have done, directly or indirectly, my title, the merchant of death... it fits all right, but I don't want... I don't want to be the merchant of death anymore." 

Loki narrowed his eyes. 

"You are serious..." 

"I am..." Tony gritted his teeth, "Can I earn another chance from you?" 

Loki remained silent for a few minutes before sighing. 

"I will help you, however you want, because I can't deny you anything—" 

"That is not what—!" 

"Let me finish." Tony snapped his mouth shut. That gesture told Loki more than anything else. Maybe his charge was not speaking empty words, maybe this was the moment for Loki to take make a move. "As for earning that chance," Loki licked his lips, "I'm looking forward to seeing how you intend to make amends." 

"Thank you... I know I don't deserve it—" 

"No, you don't." Loki was not going to lie about this particular topic, he didn't want to. 

"Then why? Why allow me this? And don't give me that bullshit about not being able to say no, I know, first hand, that you are very good at working around the boundaries of that… thing." 

"I might want to give you this chance." He shrugged. "Not my best move, but I have never been the wisest, so..." 

Loki's little smirk make Tony feet home, and at the same time hurt him, because he pushed moments like this away for no good reason. It was in his top ten list of worse decisions ever, but it was not until today that he had the courage to admit it. It was something. 

Now he had the chance to bring that back along with a change of heart. 

Anthony "Tony" Edward Stark died and was reborn in the desert. His guilt was great, but it was fueling his determination, so it was not going to take him down but force him forward. 

Now, it was time to face the world.

\---------------  
Interlude I  
\---------------

There was someone calling his name, peeling away the layers of his cocoon. He was very weak after spending far too much time slumbering. The scenery that received him was no more pleasant that nothingness of his dreams. 

The air smelled of disease and he could taste death in the air. It made him sick. 

"What is this?!" His eyes still saw in blurred images, not used to a physical form yet, "Oh goodness, I did it wrong, I’m such a fool, oh my God please forgive me, oh, oh..." 

"Silence... you... pathetic creature!" His voice was rusty, it felt strange to his own ears, "Your... name." 

"W-What?" 

"Tell me your name!" 

He stood on shaky limbs, blinking away the confusion and the heaviness of his cursed slumber, finally making form of the blurry image before him. 

A boy, barely a man with dirty ashen black hair, brown eyes and pale skin; the man was dressed in ripped clothes and there were burn marks all over his hands. 

"J-J-Joel..." the young man stuttered, loosely clutching a green stone to his chest between his burned fingers, "Joel." 

"No family name?" Joel gripped the stone tighter, snarling at him as response, "I will take that as a no." 

"They are dead," Joel corrected, "They are no more, because these, these, these idiots think so little of us!" 

He glanced around; to the place Joel had summoned him. There were a couple of bodies piled up in the far side of the room, covered with fabric and many flowers. 

"Disease," He concluded, "Their life was taken away by disease." 

"No!" Joel gripped the stone again and winced, his burned fingers hurt, "The plague is the consequence... We were trying to help!" 

Joel walked around in anger and pointed to the trap door above them, "Now I have to hide like a rat, because they think of my discoveries as witchcraft!" 

"Hmm..." 

"My mother told me you could help!" Joel whispered and showed him the stone, "You are real witchcraft, a demon!" 

"I'm not a demon." 

"Oh yes, you are, I brought you here with fire and blood, you must be a demon!" 

"I'm a child of fire and ice." He corrected, "You may call me Loki." 

"Loki?" 

"Yes." Loki walked towards Joel and extended his hand, Joel dropped the stone in it. It felt warm, as it had been heated by fire, and it was smeared with Joel's blood. 

"Will you do my biding?" Joel asked in fear, "Or will you kill me and eat my heart?" 

"I am not a demon," Loki repeated. "Cease that idiocy of yours." 

Joel exhaled sharply and took a step forward, "I woke you up, I brought you here, now do my biding!" 

Loki raised an eyebrow and folded his arms, this mortal had the power in his blood, Loki could feel it, and otherwise the summing would have failed. 

"What do you want?" 

Joel licked his lips and eyed the bodies of his family and back to Loki. 

"I want revenge." 

Loki blinked a couple of times, thinking. The man, no, the boy before him was hurt and angry. He wanted to ease his pain with retribution, if that was what his so called contractor wanted then he should deliver. 

Joel took this moment of contemplation to explain himself further, as if was necessary to convince himself he wanted this for good reasons. 

"My family... we were researching medicine and nature... we were looking for the hidden truths of the world waiting to be discovered... they called us witches and... the burnt my sister to dead! They denied us care as the plague arrived!" 

Joel fell to his knees and sobbed. Loki took pity of him and kneeled in front for him, tracing his fingers over Joel's burnt hand, healing the worse of it. 

"This was not done by the fire you used to call me," Loki muttered and Joel laughed in desperation. 

"No! This was my punishment for witchcraft!" There was madness in the laugh, almost palpable, "Me, a witch! Ha!" 

"You possess no magic," Loki pointed out, "Only your intellect, which they fear." 

"I want you to kill them all," Joel hissed, "And burn this place to the ground." 

Loki gave him back the green stone, nodding. There was a fire of anger and pain in Joel's heart and Loki knew no way to ease it than deliver destruction with the same ferocity of that fire. 

Maybe when he was done with Joel's revenge, he could sit down and talk properly to him. 

"As per the contract, I shall do as you ask." 

"Contract?" 

"Hmmm, a couple of centuries and your bloodline has been corrupted already, what a shame." 

"What are you talking about?" 

"I shall explain later, now... now is time for my fire to do as you command." 

"Yes, yes… My revenge!" 

"...Indeed." 

Loki winced as Joel laughed again, what little sanity was left in his mind slowly drifting away from the painful experience of being thought one of witchcraft, watching his sister died by fire and his parents consumed by the plague. Loki could only wish that the bloodline he was bound to serve will eventually recuperate. 

Oh, well. If was not as if he could choose whom his jailers were or how they would treat him. He could only try to make the best out of whatever he was asked to do by the mortal of the bloodline who summon him. 

He missed Asgard.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: Now beta-ed by Dunicha! Thank you :)

\---------------  
Part II  
\---------------

Tony was staring at Loki, openly and shamelessly. The trickster didn't seem to mind. They had been in a strange silence for quite a while; the only change had been when Loki folded his arms and closed his eyes while Tony kept staring at him.

"You should change," Tony said all of a sudden.

"Pardon me?" 

"Your clothes," Tony made a motion with his good hand, "You should change to something more... hum..."

"Luke Skyfall the third, PA of the eccentric Tony Stark?" Loki said with a little smirk that made Tony shift uncomfortably in his seat.

"Yeah... do that."

Loki gave him a plain look before nodding, "Very well."

Tony saw the glow as Loki changed his clothes, putting his Luke Skyfall persona. This made Tony remember the times Pepper and Loki had to team up to clean any mess he had created every other drunken night and how good they were at it. 

It suddenly hit him: Pepper was going to be there when they arrived. Sweet Pepper, who had gained her position by fixing an accounting mistake, made by Stark himself, and caught his and Loki's attention in the process. They got her out of the secretary pool almost immediately and she got herself a job as Tony’s second PA.

Loki taught her a lot of things involved in the not-easy task of being Tony Stark's glorified babysitter. Between the two of them, they managed to keep Tony's chaotic life in check, until the day Tony ruined that of course, leaving Pepper to deal with everything alone. 

He was very fortunate she managed to do it.

He still could remember Pepper's voice asking him where Loki was, why he wasn't coming to work, wondering why he wasn't answering her calls. He remembered watching Loki's phone accumulate missing calls and wasting its battery away inside a drawer in his workshop, until it went completely off. 

Tony still had the phone in the same drawer... he should update it before giving it back to Loki.

Once the plane landed safely and the hatch opened, Tony stood as if he had not been near death a few hours ago. Loki stood at his side dressed in business attire; he had rolled up the sleeves of his light green shirt to his elbow and adjusted his black waistcoat with an absentminded expression, still ignoring the pink elephant following them. That was just fine by Tony; he would deal with that later.

Tony heard Loki's faint gasp and turned to see what had caused it, wincing once he spotted the reason. Loki was looking at Pepper, who was equally giving him a surprised look. For a moment it looked as if Loki was going to walk before him, but he didn't, he just shifted his gaze to Tony, and he advanced the get off the plane in turn.

Pepper looked between them, and Loki silently motioned to Tony. She nodded and advanced towards him. Tony pretended not to notice.

"Your eyes are red." Tony pointed out, "A few tears for you long-lost boss?"

"Tears of joy," she joked, "I hate job hunting."

"Yeah, vacation's over." Tony said firmly and took a few steps towards the car, then stopped, "And I brought your partner back."

Loki stepped forward and Pepper dropper her poorly disguised mask and reached for Loki's hands, making him smile as the soft gesture grounded him.

"I've missed you," Pepper whispered, "You have no idea how much."

Loki squeezed her hands back, "I have an idea, if it's as much as I missed you."

Tony didn't want to be rude, but the guilt was making him uncomfortable, so he advanced towards the car before them. 

"When did he come back?" Happy asked him as he opened the door for him.

"He just did," Tony mumbled.

"Well, just in time," Happy said calmly, "He always had good timing."

"Yeah..." Tony sighed, "And I'm going to need him and Pepper to work together again."

"A few years ago you couldn't live without them; I'm very surprised Pepper managed to do all what they used to do between the two of them on her own."

"She's that good."

"Yeah."

Pepper and Loki looked up as Tony got into the car. Loki's smile slipped from his face for a moment, but he quickly masked it and both entered the car, Pepper first, while Loki stopped to greet Happy and exchange a few words before getting in.

Loki sat at Tony's left while Pepper at his right. That made Tony feel safe and fueled his confidence for what he was about to do, but he was not going to say it out loud.

"Where to, sir?" 

"Take us to the hospital, please, Happy." Pepper said in a very reasonable voice, but Tony would have none of it.

"No."

"No?" Pepper looked alarmed and quickly glanced at Loki then back at Tony, "Tony, you have to go to the hospital!"

"No is complete answer," Tony remarked, "I don't have to do anything—"

"Perhaps," Loki interrupted and both Tony and Pepper quickly looked at him, "it would be best if you elaborate a little more about what you want to do."

Tony raised his eyebrows and Loki lightly grinned at him in return.

"I want two things," Tony said, "Not what you are thinking," he quickly added to Pepper. "I want an American cheeseburger and I want you to call for a press conference."

"Call for a press conference?" Pepper looked both surprised and alarmed. "What on earth for?"

"Hogan, drive. Cheeseburger first."

"Tony," Loki called as she shifted in his seat a little, "What are you going to do?"

"I already told you."

"Not really."

Pepper frowned, looking between the two of them. Tony made a face and closed his eyes.

"I'm going to try and do things right," He said, "Not many would like it and I'm sorry for that, but I'm still gonna do it."

"Tony?" Pepper looked for her boss' attention, then eyed Loki questioningly, who shifted in his seat again 

Loki sighed and smiled apologetically at her before saying, "Burger King?" 

Tony couldn't help but laugh.

\---

When the car approached the place where the press conference was going to take place, a large number of people were already waiting, clapping and showing their enthusiasm for Tony's return.

Obadiah Stane was among them, it looked as if he was conducting the orchestra, everything moving at his imposed pace.

Tony saw Loki take a deep breath before he got out of the car.

"Luke?" Of course Obadiah was not expecting to see him. "Oh, this is an interesting surprise."

"Mr. Stane," Loki greeted politely but did not elaborate, he motioned to the door as Tony got out of the car instead.

"Tony, look at you!" Obadiah said with a delight that always made Loki's eye twitch. It felt fake, and Loki was very good at spotting when someone was being deceitful. 

He decided to interrupt by handing Tony the bag of burgers they got on their way there.

"I'm fine," Tony said as he dismissed Obadiah's words and walked into the building.

Pepper and Loki walked behind them, the press ready for the conference before them and Tony being Tony already. Pepper couldn't help but smile as she watched Tony go to the podium, and then turned back to Loki.

"When did you... get back?" she asked, unsure of how the phrase the question.

"He called me." Loki closed his eyes, remembering the sensation of being release from his forced slumber, "It was rather... unexpected."

"Oh, but... are you all right?" Pepper leaded closer, her eyes filled with concern, "You don't look fine."

"Well, it's been a rough couple of days." Loki bit his lower lip. "I will elaborate some other time, yes?"

"Sure," Pepper agreed. She was going to get that conversation out of him one way or another, but for the moment she could wait.

Pepper was once again focused on Tony when a man in a black suit called for her.

"Miss Potts?"

"Yes."

"Can I speak to you for a moment?" He asked, "I'm Agent Phil Coulson with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."

Loki moved to look at the agent and raised an eyebrow, "That's quite a mouthful."

Agent Coulson looked at him and smiled, "I know, we're working on it."

"Could you take notes?" Pepper asked Loki. "I'll right back."

"Of course," Loki took Pepper's notebook while she spoke with Agent Coulson.

Loki's attention went back to Obadiah, who was standing at the podium awkwardly, having no idea what to say, Tony was at the podium's base, sitting and eating his cheeseburger.

"Lo-Luke!" suddenly, all eyes were on him and Loki forced himself to not react, "Come here, come on, oh, hey, would it be aright if everyone sat down?"

Loki moved around the people and sat down on Tony's left while Obadiah took seat at his right.

"Good to see you," Obadiah said in a low voice and Loki felt alarm bells ringing in the back of his head, he closed his eyes and tried to ignore it.

"I never get to say goodbye to Dad," Tony commented out of nowhere, looking in Obadiah's eyes and then lightly elbowed Loki on his other side to make him look at him and then to the rest of the people present, "I never got the say goodbye to my father."

Tony was speaking about the conversation he never got to have with Howard while Loki was staring at the floor, digging his fingernails into his palms as he recalled the day Howard passed away.

Loki was on the plane with Howard and Maria, he was there when everything started to beep, when the explosion happened and when everything turned to a living nightmare.

"We are not going to make it!"

"Oh God, Oh God, my baby, Tony, oh God..."

"DAMN IT!"

"Grab my hand! Let me take you out of here!"

"You're wounded!"

"I'm fine!"

"My Tony, my son... Take care of him."

"Please, take my hand!"

"LOKI, I HOWARD STARK—"

"Don't you DARE!"

Loki came back to the moment when the noise in his head melted with the uproar in the room. He got up as Tony declared he was going to shut down the weapons division of the company and Obadiah was trying to do some sort of damage control. Loki already knew Tony was going to do something not subtle at all, so he walked beside him as the press asked an infinite number of questions and Obadiah kept talking.

"They don't believe me," Tony said as they walked, "I'm serious."

"Your actions will have to speak more than your words," Loki said calmly, "If you really want to change the course of Stark Industries, you will have to do more than just talk."

"I have a vision," Tony's words were firm. He lightly touched his chest and smiled to himself, "I know what I must do."

"You think you know," Loki corrected, "We will have to wait and see if it works."

"I know I'm risking a lot," Tony climbed into the car, ignoring Happy's questioning look, "But if I don't, then nothing will change."

Loki climbed into the car next and stared at him for a long moment, searching for something in his face and his words.

"Well... that much is true."

\---

Pepper went to do the public relations-related business that was fairly needed after Tony's press conference, while Loki stayed with Tony. 

They were in the Arc Reactor bay, both silent as Tony collected his thoughts and sorted out what he wanted to say.

"You knew my father better than I did." It wasn't an accusation but a comment, nonetheless true. "What would he have thought of this?"

Loki narrowed his eyes, unsure of what Tony wanted him to say. He would have preferred to ignore the question, but Tony had his head turned over his shoulder, if not looking at him directly, but it was still rather obvious he was expecting an answer.

"Your father's strong point was not just weaponry," Loki kept his voice neutral, "He was a man of science, the fact that he happened to be allied with the government and was very good at making weapons was just, well, convenient."

"You're avoiding the question."

Loki rolled his eyes. "Your father not only made weapons, Anthony, remember that."

Tony didn't look satisfied with the answer, but he nodded and returned his attention at the large arc reactor in front of them, humming with energy and possibilities.

He wasn't entirely a surprised to see Obadiah arrive at the bay. He was expected at some point to do so, but it didn't mean Loki had to like it.

"Well, that... that went well."

"Did I just paint a target on the back of my head?"

"Your head? What about my head?" he said in a slightly exasperated tone. "And when did you get back?" Obadiah motioned to Loki, who was just standing there with a notepad in his hands, looking unimpressed.

"This morning, sir," he answered simply, "I got an emergency call."

"Course you did," Obadiah grinned and turned towards Tony, "You planned this and brought him back in hopes for managing this storm? This is not ok, Tony, we make weapons!"

"I don't want a body count to be our only legacy," Tony tried to reason, "We can do better, we can do something else."

"Like what? You want us to make baby bottles?"

Loki refrained from pointing out the fact that Stark Industries does have a medical technology research division. As much fun it was to antagonize Obadiah, he wanted to not make much out of his presence for now.

Obadiah and Tony talked about the arc reactor technology, how it works and Tony's expectations to do something more with it. 

"Arc reactor technology, that's a dead end, right?"

"Maybe." Tony was using his 'I know something you don't' voice; it made Loki smirk.

"Am I right? We haven't had a breakthrough in what? Thirty years?"

"That's what they say." Tony looked over his shoulder at Loki, who just rolled his eyes and nodded, giving a cue to Tony to turn back to Obadiah, "Can you have a lousier poker face? Who told you? Rhodey or Pepper? Because Luke didn't."

"Never mind who told me. Show me, I wanna see it."

"Ok, Rhodey did it."

Loki almost stepped between Obadiah and Tony when he showed him the arc reactor in his chest. The protective feeling didn't go away when Obadiah put his arm around Tony's shoulders.

"Listen to me Tony, we're a team, there's nothing we can't do if we stick together like your father and I." He looked at Loki then, with a smirk that didn't give any reassurance. "You even have your Skyfall man assisting you, as your father used to."

Loki felt his blood boil. It was true that he used another name when he was under Howard's command and that name was technically Luke's 'father', who died in the same plane crash as Howard. 

Putting on a new mask had never felt that bitter to Loki.

The conversation continued and Loki excused himself and went outside, where Happy was waiting.

"Rough homecoming, eh?" Happy handed him a fresh cup of coffee, and Loki welcomed it greatly.

"It feels like compensation for everything I missed the pass couple of years," he joked and Happy nodded in agreement.

"But man, you arrived here so fast, I mean, you were with him in the military plane, how come?"

Loki shrugged, "I went to live overseas after I... left... When Tony called for me it was easier to arrive at a city nearby the military base he was in," the lie rolled so easily off his tongue he almost felt bad about it, almost. "The army was not very happy about it, but Tony was rather insistent and Rhodey arranged for it to happen."

"Well, I'm glad you're back with the team, after this stunt we are going to have a lot of work to do."

"It seems most likely."

The silence that followed was comfortable. Loki had no idea he missed moments like this until now, but with that feeling also came the dread of remembering his incarceration.

There wasn't much he could deny a member of the Stark family bloodline, much less the one that was his 'master', yet he hoped to avoid another bitter episode like the one that led him to be trapped by Tony and that his 'master' was talking truth about wanting to do better.

To be honest, Loki didn't believe Tony, not really, but Loki was good at lying, especially to himself, so he would carry on with Tony's wish, and as he had done with other task he didn't believe in before: try to make the best of it.

\---

"You're awfully silent," Tony said out of nowhere, and his voice almost rumbled in the workshop to support his point.

Loki folded his arms and arched an eyebrow. Tony didn't look up from his work, but Loki knew he saw the gesture. 

Tony had been down in his workshop since they got back, making a better model of the arc reactor to replace the one in his chest. Loki had come and gone from the workshop to bring food and generally just keep Tony company.

Tony's comment was the truth. Loki had been too quiet, far more so than Tony remembered.

"Excuse me for not being very chatty after having silence as company for a long time. I'm still getting used to the sound of your voice."

It was a complete lie; Loki could never forget the sound of Tony's voice, not even if he wanted to.

Tony stopped working for a moment, lifting his goggles from his head to look Loki in the eye. "Look, I'm trying I just don't—"

"The rune circle you used is still engraved in your workshop's floor."

Tony snapped his mouth shut, staring at Loki, who was not looking at him but at some distant point in the wall. Tony lowered his gaze to the floor, where there were faint traces of runes in it; they were difficult to see unless you were looking for them, but they were there.

He cursed himself out loud, running both hands through his hair. That was the circle he had used to prevent Loki from countering his command, to force him into his pocket dimension, into a cursed slumber.

"I forgot it was still here," he said in a very low voice. "I... I have no excuse."

Loki snorted and the uneasy silence returned. Tony went back to work on his arc reactor and Loki to staring at the wall. They remained like this for a while, until DUM-E nudged Loki and made that robot sound of his. Loki sighed and petted the robot; he couldn't deny he was fond of it.

"Anthony," Loki said, "Tell me what you want me to do now. I'm... not entirely sure what you expect from me."

"I told you, I just... I want to make things better, another chance, I want to try and fix my stupid mistakes."

"Yes, and I agree to let you try, at least where my thoughts and opinions of you are concerned, but all this," he motioned to the table, "not making weapons anymore and your desire to change the company's image--"

"No, no, I didn't bring you back to sort out my mess, this was my decision and I have to do this to prove to myself I can do better, live up to Yinsen's expectations... or at least try to."

Loki blinked several times and asked, "Yinsen?"

"Yinsen," Tony said, "He... he was a captive along with me..."

Tony closed his eyes and took a deep breath, he had to speak about this now or he would never do it.

"I was demonstrating a new missile in Afghanistan went the convoy was attacked... These men, they called themselves The Ten Rings, they wanted me to make weapons for them, they wanted my Jericho missile and once they were done, they would kill me, I'm sure.

Yinsen was a man they had captured before me. He was a doctor and engineer from a village called Gulmira and he saved my life by using a makeshift magnet to stop the shrapnel in my chest from getting into my heart.

He said we had met before at a conference, but I don't remember, he said I was so drunk that he didn't expect me to remember him. He still was nice to me, he helped me get better and eventually to craft the metal suit I used to escape but... he died before we could leave the cave and I couldn't save him, he died to let me escape and I just don't think I am worthy of his sacrifice."

Tony was leaning over the table, resting his forehead on his arms, his eyes hidden from view, but he could feel Loki standing behind him.

"A brave man," Loki muttered, "I pray for his soul to reach Valhalla."

"Eh... I bet you would've liked him," Tony blinked away tears as he lifted his head, but didn't look at Loki, "I tried to call you when I was in that cave, you know?"

"Oh?"

"I couldn't remember the runes to break the fucking seal I imposed on you," Tony hissed, "I couldn't remember."

"Tony—"

"You could've saved Yinsen's life," he said in anger, "I dreamed about you, standing outside the metal door of the cavern where I was trapped, staring at it as if you could melt it with just your sight, I was screaming your fucking name, but you couldn't do shit about it, because there were these goddamn shadows around you not letting you move... Fuck!"

Tony got up and walked around the workshop trying to calm himself while Loki was deep in thought.

That cave and the death of Yinsen made a very deep wound in Tony's soul. That Loki understood now. It pained him that he wasn't there to help Tony, but some sick and twisted part of him was also glad because that event made Tony release him from the pocket dimension.

He wasn't sure what that thought would say of him... or if he really cared.

Yet, there was something in Tony's words that made him feel strangely better: Tony had wanted to call him to save another man's life and not his own, a foolishly noble act that didn't match Tony Stark, at least not until this day.

Maybe there was truth behind Tony's desire to make things better, a real motive and not just pride and a trivial yearning to go against what the world expected of him.

Who has he to underestimate the impact the man that saved Tony's life at the high cost of his own made in his master? Maybe this was a really good thing.

Maybe.

"What is done, is done, and it cannot be changed." Loki walked towards Tony and offered him his hand, "You can only go forward now, Anthony."

"I... yeah."

He took Loki's hand. He would do this, one step at a time.

Tony continued the construction of his new arc reactor with Loki at his side. The silence between them was still uneasy, but now a little less so.

\---

"I cannot reach it," Loki muttered and made a face.

"What do you mean you can't do it?" Tony huffed in exasperation, "Your hands are slim and delicate!"

"I'm not sure if I should take that as an offence," Loki tapped the new arc reactor with his fingers as he held it in his opposite hand, "Nonetheless my point stands: my hand doesn't exactly fit in your chest cavity."

"Do your magic mojo then!"

"In case you forgot, I'm still recharging my magic reserves, thus rendering me unable to shape shift; I was in a deep slumber until a couple of days ago, you see."

"Oh come on, don't guilt trip me now."

"You deserve it."

"Yes, but... now?"

"I am entitled to do so until I feel less angry about it," Loki said with a smirk, "You might as well learn to endure it."

"Can I buy you something pretty to help me out with that?"

"That usually works slightly better with Pepper than me," he pointed out. "Oh, Pepper is upstairs."

Tony frowned and looked thoughtful for a second, "Maybe she can help! Surely her hands are small, very petite, more than yours."

"I return to my previous statement, I'm not quite sure if to feel offended that you think of my hands as remotely petite."

"Well, you do have pretty hands... that sounded less creepy in my head."

"I'll get Pepper." Loki handed over the arc reactor and turned to leave the workshop.

"Sure, I can wait..." Tony mumbled, "He does have pretty hands, though."

Loki was halfway up the stairs when he heard the sound of the television. There was a man making several rude comments about Stark Industries' future, and he was being very noisy about it.

"I disagree. I might not be in the business strategy department, but I'm sure Anthony has a much better plan than just smashing cups with a baseball bat."

Loki's casual comment made Pepper jump, she adjusted her Bluetooth device and smiled at him, "You and I both know that, everyone else? Not so much."

"Such little faith." There was grin on his lips and Pepper nodded, amused by his comment.

"I admit I'm very nervous about this," she said softly. "Does he really have a plan?"

"I think so," Loki looked contemplative for a long moment, "we probably won't like it, however."

"I was afraid you would say that," she sighed, as if resigned, "Loki, I know you and Tony share a very complicated connection—"

"Well..."

"I have point here, let me finish." He gestured for her to continue, "Is it safe? Is he going to be fine?"

"I'm afraid I know not, at least not yet." Loki's tone was solemn, with a hint of disappointment in it. "Currently, Anthony is to me like a book I read long ago and forgot the details of; it's most peculiar, strange and yet familiar. I'm not sure how to describe it."

"Do the events of the last time I saw you have something to do with it?"

"Yes." Loki closed his eyes. "It might be petty on my part, but I cannot simply forget our... argument."

"He did something stupid." It wasn't a question. "The morning he told me you wouldn't be back, I asked for an explanation, and he wouldn't give me any. I tried until he made it clear I wasn't going to get one, I still tried a few more times after that, and now you're back... from... whatever you call it."

"It's... complicated." He made a face, "The nature of my existence is mystical in its very essence, my relationship with Anthony even more so, our argument that night led him to push me away... I wasn't expecting it."

"I'm sorry."

"It wasn't your fault... it wasn't anyone's fault but his, he knows that."

"But you came back..."

"He called me."

"You didn't think twice to respond," she pointed out. "And now you're here, ready to support him, even thinking you are mad at him, I know you are."

"I..." He sighed, "I guess you are right."

Pepper took his hand, guiding him to sit beside him and turned off the TV. 

"What happened that night, Loki?"

Loki rubbed his thumb along Pepper's hand, a bitter smile on his face.

"I tried to tell him that a person he trusts was not being honest with him... My approach of the subject was not well received."

"Who?"

"It doesn't matter, at least not now." He stood up and abruptly changed the subject, "He requires your help, and my hands are not petite enough."

"Excuse me?"

"Come along, he will explain."

They went back into the lab, were Tony was pouting and looking impatient.

"You two love to chat about me behind my back," he accused with mock resentment. "Don't deny it, you were doing it!"

"Of course," Loki said with a grin, "You cannot expect less."

"Oh for the love of... Uhu!"

"Is that the thing keeping you alive?" Pepper interrupted, because she was not going to deny Loki's words, it was essentially true.

"It was. It's now an antique, I'm going to change it for this," He showed her the new arc reactor, "But... you see, there's an exposed wire under the device and Loki can't reach it."

Loki rolled his eyes as Tony snapped the old arc reactor out and handed it to him, making Pepper nervous about what to do.

"Oh my God, what do you want me to do?" She looked between Tony and Loki and back to the engineer.

"I just want you to gently lift the wire out."

"You know, I don't think I'm qualified to do this," she pointed out, more than a little unnerved.

"No, you're fine. You're the most capable, qualified, trustworthy person I've ever met. You're gonna do great."

"Loki is right here, you know," she pointed out, "He taught me how to deal with you."

"You are far more trustworthy than me, Pepper," Loki's tone was gentle, "And I cannot do this." 

"'Cause his hand doesn't fit and he can't use his magic mojo and he's also being a jerk about it."

"Oh, both of you shut up!" Pepper waved her hands, "Okay, okay..."

What followed was a very amused scene involving Pepper trying to get the copper wire out and sending Tony into a cardiac arrest in the process. 

Loki stood at Tony's head, his hand glowing green as he placed it over his shoulder, Tony was not in mortal danger yet, but the situation was making Loki anxious already.

"Put the other in, Pepper, yes, that way," Loki instructed very calmly. It didn't help much but the gesture was appreciated.

"There!" Tony said after Pepper connected the new reactor, "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Loki ran his glowing hand over the rector, making the radiance duplicate. Tony gave him a grateful look and then turned to Pepper, giggling.

"You OK?"

"Don't ever, ever, ever ask me to do anything like that ever again!" Pepper looked something between grossed out, scared and amused.

"It was rather stressful." Loki pointed out.

"I don't have anyone but you two." Tony said directly and simply. The atmosphere changed, making both Pepper and Loki's amused faces slowly fall. Tony smiled apologetically. "Anyway..."

"What do you want me to do with this?" Pepper asked as Tony stood up, almost falling in the process, but Loki took his arm just in time.

"Oh, that? Get rid of it."

"You don't wanna keep it?"

"Nah, I'm not Nostalgic, come on, I got work to do." He shook Loki off, "Let's go, come on."

Pepper made a face and looked over to Loki, who shrugged. She walked away with the reactor, looking over her shoulder just in time to see Tony leaning closer to Loki. 

She smiled to herself. Whatever disagreement they had that made Tony want to bury all existence of Loki a few years ago had not destroyed their relationship. She looked over the reactor in her hand; maybe the awful events in Afghanistan had indeed changed her boss.

\---

It had been a couple of hours since Tony left to talk to Rhodey at the Military base. He told Loki to stay behind and take a rest, pointing out he looked "like hell", apparently. Considering that comment came from the man recently rescued from a cave full of terrorists, that was saying something.

Loki felt tired, but he didn't want to sleep. Not after being asleep for such a long period of time without really resting. The forced slumber never brought him rest, this time was no exception.

He flexed his fingers, testing the magic running inside him, feeling how little by little his reserves were being restored. He sat on the floor and closed his eyes, setting his mind in a blank state, meditating on the recent events.

The analogy he gave to Pepper was the most fitting; at the moment, Tony was to him like a book he read a long time ago, and while the details were not clear the base concept remained.

Details were important, the fact that he felt these were lost to him made him wary.

Trust was not Loki's strongest point. He had valid reasons for it, and yet he wanted to trust Tony, not only because he was currently the only heir of the Stark bloodline and it was his duty to serve him, but because at one time he had been loyal to him out of his own choice and not the contract.

"Sentiment brought you to this mess, Loki," he whispered to himself, "Sentiment will not get you out."

He was aware that giving Tony the chance to make amends was probably not a good idea, not because Tony wouldn't do it, but because gave room to repair their uneasy relationship. Oh who was he kidding, it was already doing so.

Loki knew he was a fool because he wanted to make something else of his jailer, he couldn't help it.

Maybe it was more than just Tony, maybe it was the fact that he didn't want to think of himself as a slave to him, no matter the wording of his long ago established contract. Maybe he just wanted to take his reality and make it a little better if he couldn't change it.

Whatever it was, lingered in his mind with the nagging remainder that he was risking being hurt again, by his own choice.

Loki felt a morbid satisfaction when Tony came back with a disappointed look on his face hiding the hurt of being turned down by his friend in his self-redemption project. It wasn't nice of him, but Loki had never fooled himself by thinking he was a nice person.

Tony sat at his work station, motioning to the seat next to him for Loki to take. He did so without saying a word.

"Jarvis, you up?"

"For you, sir, always."

"I'd like to open a new project file," Loki frowned when he saw the images displayed and his expression slowly changed into awe, "Index as Mark II."

"Shall I store this on the Stark Industries Central Data Base?"

"Actually..." Tony turned to look at Loki in the eye, "Let's just keep this on my private server."

"Tony?"

"You're the only one I can trust right now." The solemnity in Tony's voice was almost palpable, "I don't want this winding up in the wrong hands."

"Is this an order?"

"No."

"Pardon me?"

"I'm not ordering you to help me," Tony corrected, "I'm asking you if you would."

Loki studied his expression for a long moment. It felt nice... having the illusion of freedom.

After ignoring the irksome voice in the back of his head that he was once again letting sentiment rule him, he answered.

"Yes... I will."

Who said he was wise, anyway?


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks a bunch to Dunicha for helping me out, because without her help this story wouldn't make half the sense it makes, really.

\---------------  
Part III  
\---------------

There was some odd feeling in watching Tony work again. He was not motivated to make weapons for the Army this time. It reminded Loki of times when things were a bit different in his life, when the Stark he was watching over was Howard, looking even younger than Tony at the moment.

"What did you say?" asked Tony, working along with Butterfingers to create the most detailed mechanics of what seemed to be some kind of mechanical armor.

"Repulsors," Loki repeated, "The design reminds me of the first time your father created the repulsor technology."

"Repulsor technology!" Tony said out loud, almost making Butterfingers burn a bunch of wires, "Yes! Yes! Yes!"

Tony set to work immediately, as if he only needed Loki's comment to ignite the inspiration to create.

It took several hours but Tony had the prototype ready for testing. He did so while ignoring Loki, who was sitting on a nearby stool looking unimpressed.

"The intercom," Loki said, "It's the third time Pepper has called you."

"I'm a little busy right now!"

"I can see that..."

A few minutes later Pepper came down bringing a a box covered in brown paper and a cup of coffee. 

"Didn't you two hear the intercom?"

"Yes, but he ignored it," answered Loki with a little smirk. Tony threw him a dirty look and then went back to work.

"I thought you said you were done making weapons," Pepper looked puzzled as she looked from Tony to Loki, who shrugged, looking more bored than anything else.

"Not a weapon!" Tony defended, "This is a flight stabilizer. It's completely harmless."

The following scene consisted of Tony trying his repulsors and promptly being pushed backwards with great force. Loki teleported himself behind Tony and caught him, making them both fall backwards and collide with the wall, knocking the air out of Loki's lungs.

"I wasn't expecting that..." Tony grunted and moved to get off Loki, "Hey, you OK?" 

Loki turned onto his hands and knees, looking a little ill. Tony helped him to sit down on the floor, but Loki flinched away from his touch. The trickster ignored Tony's crestfallen expression as he stood up.

"Obadiah's upstairs," Pepper said, "Luke, I need your help for a moment, please?"

"Of course."

Going upstairs while ignoring Tony was a little awkward, but Loki was good at ignoring the uncomfortable atmosphere around him, so he just shrugged it off and walked with Pepper. They were checking the stock market points when Tony joined them.

Obadiah was playing the piano and there was pizza from one of Tony's preferred places in New York on the coffee table. Loki raised an eyebrow and his gaze crossed Obadiah, who just smirked, giving Loki a bad feeling about the situation.

"How did it go?" Silence was Obadiah's answer to Tony's question. "Huh, that bad, eh?"

As Tony and Obadiah were discussing the Board of Directors and the meeting Tony didn't attend, Pepper and Loki were conspiring on their own.

Loki showed Pepper the proper documentation of one of Stark Industries old projects. It was focused in communications technology.

"If you have the chance, make this project be reconsidered," Loki told her, "This might help to stabilize the drop in the stock market."

"It was a very large drop," Pepper muttered, "Sixty points."

"I know." Loki pointed to another projects in Pepper's Stark Pad, "We should make sure the Board takes a look at these too, it might compensate their bad mood."

"I hope so."

"No!" Tony's angry voice got Pepper and Loki out of their planning discussion, "This is staying with me."

"You got to give me something to work with, Tony!" protested Obadiah, "Come on."

"No, no, no and no, this one is not getting in their hands," Tony was motioning to his arc reactor, "I'm keeping this."

As he walked away, Obadiah took the pizza from him, "I'm keeping this then, you can take a slice, yeah, and that's it."

"Luke, come on!" Loki stood, smiling apologetically at Pepper and just nodding to Obadiah, "Good night, Obie!"

As they returned to the workshop, Loki sighed softly as he watched Tony mumble under his breath about the 'ungrateful directors' board' and Obadiah's insistence.

"You're going to make yourself ill," Loki commented casually as Tony bit down the slice of pizza.

"What?"

"If you continue being angry and eating, you're going to make yourself ill."

"You sound like my mother."

"Who do you think taught me that?" The words came out of his mouth before he could properly think about them, but it was done and the effect was almost instantaneous; Tony stopped talking under his breath, he now looked a little uncomfortable.

"It's no fair that you know more about my parents than me..."

Loki didn't have an answer for that so he just handed Tony the cup of coffee Pepper brought to him and then sat on the stool, watching him work.

\-----

"I don't think this is a good—" There was another crash, "—idea."

"Stop jinxing it!"

"If you continue doing things this way, I cannot help but point out the obvious."

"Loki, this is going to work, I just have to work a little more in the details, as I am doing right now."

"If you say so..."

"I know so!" 

The Mark II was ready for flying tests and Loki pointed out it was not a good idea, and JARVIS supported the notion, so obviously Tony didn't listen and went ahead with his plans.

Now Loki was in the workshop, sitting at the work station with a headset and looking at four different screens at the same time.

He felt ridiculous.

"You've got clear skies," Loki moved the display on the screens to send to Tony in the fly zone while Tony screamed his lungs out in excitement, because he was flying damn it, he had the right to be exited.

JARVIS got the data and displayed it. Loki couldn't help but smile as Tony sounded happy to be flying around Malibu and higher.

But something wasn't right.

"You're going too high!" Loki stood abruptly, making the chair he was sitting fall onto the floor. "Tony!"

Suddenly the communication was lost.

"Oh no..."

Loki closed his eyes, whispering a few words under his breath, a rush of images came to his mind, he could see the stars and the lights below. Tony was screaming at JARVIS as he fell at great speed, no slowing down.

The trickster extended his hands and a rune circle glowed under him, same signs that in his mind surrounded Tony, making the ice melt and allowing him to deploy and destroy the ice.

The runes were gone, the glow had faded Loki collapsed, breathing heavily.

"Curses..." he mumbled as he moved to support his weight on his trembling hands, "Why?!"

There was so much frustration in him, his magic was still low, his great power was so damped by the amount of restraint he was under trapped in his pocket dimension that even several days after his return, he still had low magic reserves.

He heard the crash as Tony landed, but he had no strength to get up and greet him.

\-----

"You're angry with me."

Loki didn't answer, he just pulled his knees up against his chest as he watched the television, Tony behind him at the workstation, checking the logs of his flying test.

"Why are you still angry with me?"

"You almost killed yourself tonight," Loki said in a low voice, "I had to use a spell to make the ice melt so you could break it, after that I had drained my magic reserves again."

"But you--" Loki showed his tattooed wrists making Tony snap his mouth shut.

The silence was very awkward for a good half an hour, until Tony got up and walked to the couch, pushing Loki to lay on it.

"Anthony..."

"Don't speak." Tony hissed, "Don't move." 

It was an order and Loki was forced to obey it. Tony narrowed his eyes and looked at him from head to toe, laying on the couch, unmoving. 

The scene brought bad memories to Loki's mind.

He was halfway into a vivid nightmare when Tony dropped a blanket over him, making him come back to the present.

"Sorry, I just... forgot you have to do things like that to help me, you should rest."

Loki blinked several times and narrowed his eyes.

"I'm going to leave, you should sleep and when you wake up, then you can yell at me again, ok?"

He couldn't answer, but he did roll his eyes and then closed them.

Tony was not going to hurt him, he had to repeat that in silence several times to believed it.

His sleep was an uneasy one.

\-----

He couldn't move, he couldn't speak, he could barely breath. His eyes scanned the room in panic and located the glowing rune circle under his feet, runes meant to bind him, runes meant to hurt him.

Tony was standing in front of him with a sheet of paper in one hand a green stone on the other.

"I can't stand you."

There was resentment in his voice, but not hate, not yet.

"...T-Tony..."

"He... he is like a father to me!" Tony shouted, "He is everything Howard was not!"

"He is lying to you!" It hurt to speak, but Loki had to make Tony see reason, "He is not a good man!"

"And you are?!" Tony spit on the floor, "You're a fucking over-powered slave!"

"I-I..."

"You are a menace!"

"N-No...!" 

"I can't let you loose, not anymore, you... you could hurt someone."

"No! I-I... TONY!"

"Shut up!"

Loki fell onto his knees, the dark binding was holding him in place as Tony walked in circles around him. He entered the circle and kissed Loki's mouth then stepped back.

"Don't... please."

"I can't believe you are begging." Tony closed his hand over the stone. "That's just pathetic."

"Tony, please, listen to me!"

"What for? You will only lie to me."

"I have never lied to you!" Loki screamed, "Please!"

"No."

There was fire and there was darkness and the sound of Loki's screams, but Tony didn't stop.

\-----

Loki woke up with the sound of his own screams and Tony looking down at him.

"Don't!" Loki screamed, "Don't send me back there!"

"Wha...?"

Loki jumped off the couch and scratched at his wrist, feeling the tattoos burn his skin like they had not done in several years, not since the day Tony locked him up.... Oh.

"A memory..." he whispered while collecting himself. Concluding his nightmare had been a scene playing of a day he dreaded, but it was not the present moment. He was fine and Tony was not going to hurt him.

But then why did he feel his 'master's' rage so vividly...? 

He glanced down at his wrist; the runes were burning him, meaning his master was passing through an uncontrollable wave of feelings, most likely anger. Loki turned around to face Tony, who was looking at the television; the images on the screen were of a town being destroyed by the war and the people suffering because of it.

"Sorry for waking you up," Tony mumbled as he put on the glove of his armor, "You were having a nightmare."

"Hem... It's fine." Loki eyed Tony and then the screen, "What happened?"

"I went to the party at the Disney Hall," Tony sounded collected, but the burning on the runes on Loki's wrist was telling him otherwise, "Obie locked me out of the board, he was the one that..." Tony chuckled, the sound was bitter. "He said it was the only way to protect me."

Loki came near him, staying behind the couch he had been sleeping on until a few minutes ago. He saw a bunch of pictures on the table as the news kept on talking about the horrors of war in Gulmira while Tony sat and stared at the screen.

"You don't believe him.

"No." Loki flinched at the sound, "You told me, years ago, that he was lying to me."

"...Yes."

"I reacted badly back then... I shouldn't have done that to you."

Loki sighed, "I essentially destroyed the image of the man who had filled the place your father's death left," Loki pointed out. "I didn't see it that way back then."

"What were you thinking?" Tony asked, still not looking at him. "You know Dad's a touchy subject with me."

Loki sighed, "I... I have a duty towards you, I was fulfilling it... I... did not expect you would react so badly."

"It wasn't the first time... Even before that day, I did things to you I shouldn't have done," Tony hissed, "I... it seems I only have talent for destruction."

Loki held the picture of the Jericho missile in his hands and then glanced over to the news. Connecting the dots and raising the old suspicions he had always had about the under-the-table deals that happened in Stark Industries without Tony's knowledge.

Facing the truth always hurt, and the overwhelming negative emotion Tony was projecting to Loki was a mixture of rage, betrayal and self-loathing.

"What are you going to do about it?"

Loki's question was direct, there was no pity he could feel for Tony, not when he saw this coming a very long time ago and ignored it.

"I will fight back." Tony hissed, "I will make it right, those are my weapons and I don't approve of that use!" Tony stood and shot at the glass doors, "I won't cross that line!"

He shot again and again, until there were no more glass panels to break.

Loki folded his arms over his chest and contemplated the destruction as Tony slowly calmed down. He turned around and picked up the headset.

"You better get started."

\-----

Loki was getting more and more familiar with the workstation. The headset didn't feel too ridiculous anymore and between JARVIS' status updates and Tony's occasional comments, he fell into his role.

He learned more about the events in the cave and the impact they made on Tony as the small talk proceeded. Even with the suits fast speed, it would be some time before he reached Gulmira. As Tony talked, Loki learned why the place made such a direct impact on him.

The people of Gulmira were innocent and the terrorists causing havoc deserved retribution for the moral offense, there was no doubt about that. Even so, Loki concluded that Tony's motivations were more personal than it appeared.

Gulmira was the town Yinsen spoke of. The place was a memorial of the man that saved Tony's life in that cave. The fact that it was being attacked with the weapons Tony designed gave the whole thing a new level of offense. That it happened because someone gave an order opposite to Tony's wishes of stopping the weapons division made the whole thing almost too personal.

As Tony landed in the Gulmira and started to show the power of his suit and how the man behind it was against crimes being committed there, Loki had another kind of vision.

He understood then that Tony was transcending, in his own way.

"Your kid is growing up, Howard," Loki said in a small voice as he watched the monitors. "I bet you would have been proud of him."

When the screens showed Tony being attacked by a tank and proceeding to get up and attack back, Loki couldn't help but chuckled.

"You can't leave the style behind, can you?" he said as he tapped into the communication system.

"'Course not," Tony replied, "It's part of me."

"I bet it is."

Loki muted the communication system and watched the rest of the display. His face was carefully blank when Tony caught one of the main terrorists and left him to the towns people's mercy.

His vision suddenly filled with the gold of Asgard and the land behind the bridge and the fire slipping through his fingers. He could remember the crowd that surrounded him as he fell, defeated, and the fate that he could not avoid.

But this man deserved his fate for the acts he committed.

Loki closed his eyes and changed the display, going back to monitor Tony as he flew back to America.

"Mission accomplished." 

Tony's voice had a hint of satisfaction, but there was no malice in it. This was not revenge, not really. Even if the act itself had been fueled by Tony's rage, the reason had been the desire to set things right, make a statement and assure justice reached the place that stood in memory of an innocent man who didn't deserve to die. Not for Tony's sake, especially not for Tony's sake.

"Come back home, Tony," Loki said softly, "There's still much to do."

"Yeah."

Loki closed the display of the other three screens, only leaving the feed of Tony's main HUD and the sound of JARVIS' reports.

The runes still burned his wrists.

\-----

Loki had to bite his lip to not burst into laughter as Tony flinched and moved while JARVIS tried to get him out of the damaged suit.

"You did quite a number in the air," Loki pointed out, "Colonel Rhodes will not let this one pass without an explanation."

"They attacked me first!" Tony protested, "Ow, Ow, Ow! Jarvis, buddy, be gentle, it's my first time."

"If you could stop moving, sir, this would be less unpleasant."

"Says the disembodied AI," Tony snorted, "OW!"

"I did warn you, sir."

Loki couldn't help it, this time he did laugh. 

"Yes, of course, laugh at my pain." Tony was actually pouting. 

"You were in a no fly zone," Loki said between breaths. "Maybe we should have told something to Colonel Rhodes in advance..."

"You told me the skies were clear!"

"Oh, but they were!" Loki protested, "I wasn't expecting you to get shot."

"Oh my God..."

Both Tony and Loki turned around to see Pepper entering the workshop, walking carefully around the broken glass and damaged furniture.

"Huhmmmm..." Loki bit his lip and Tony stared at her.

"Let's face it. This is not the worst thing you've caught me doing."

Pepper gaped at him and then looked questioningly at Loki before going back to Tony and gaping some more.

"Are those bullet holes?"

There were many reasons for why Pepper was a blessing in Tony's disaster of a life. Loki had been really happy to find someone like her to help him out and even more so because Tony genuinely appreciated her. She was one of the main pillars in Tony's life and Loki would dare to say that she was slowly becoming a pillar in his own.

Still, that didn't mean she would blindly do anything for Tony or him.

Asking her to hack into the main frame didn't sound like a very difficult task. The hard job would be done by the program already set in the device Tony programmed. Still, that was not the point.

"You're going to kill yourself, Tony!" Pepper said in a mixture of anger and distress. "I don't want to be part of it."

"Pepper..."

"No, Loki!" She turned around with tears in her eyes, "I don't want to watch him die... I..."

"You stood by his side all these years when he was the Merchant of Death," Loki said softly. "Isn't this better?"

"I-I-I..."

"I know I'm asking a lot of you," Tony interrupted, "If Loki could do it, I'm sure he would, but he just came back, it would be far too suspicious." Tony's voice was trembling, "Please Pepper... this is important."

"Why?" Pepper asked in frustration, "Why is this so important, why now?"

"Because I shouldn't be alive!" Tony pointed out, his voice almost breaking, "Not unless it was for a reason."

Pepper remained in silence for a long time, then took the device with trembling hands. 

"I need you to help me, Loki."

"Of course."

Tony looked relived, but only a little. Loki understood the feeling; walking towards a path you know is going to hurt you is never easy.

\-----

As Pepper entered the office, Loki remained outside ready for whatever she may need.

"Mr. Skyfall?"

The man from the press conference was back and Loki vaguely saw something familiar in him besides that.

"Yes."

"I'm Agent Coulson," he clarified, "we had an appointment."

Loki nodded absentmindedly as he motioned towards the building, "Miss Potts, my partner might have mentioned something."

"It's really important that we debrief Mr. Stark about the circumstances of his escape."

Loki gave him an odd look, "You seem familiar, have I seen you before?"

"Well, at the press conference--"

"No, not at that time..." Loki mumbled, feeling a stab of pain in his head as he made the effort to remember.

"I'm not sure, Mr. Skyfall," Agent Coulson shrugged, "Although, I did know your father, if I'm not wrong."

"My father..." 

Loki closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. A wave of images came to his mind, a younger Agent Coulson was part of them. 

"Excuse me, I... I'll be right back."

"Of course."

Loki practically ran from the place to calm down. He couldn't help but wonder why his memories were so scrambled. He wasn't sure if it was a side effect of his time in the pocket dimension or something else.

He had the feeling that it was something to do with Howard.

It took him a long time to calm down and by the time he did, something else came up.

\-----

Pepper's phone call was not unexpected. It only made things even more clear to Loki: Obadiah was up to no good.

So, when Loki reached the Sector 16 bay, finding himself unable to open the door, it came as no surprise.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, picturing himself walking as if there was no door. His magic bubbled around him, and he found that it was still partially asleep. Such a thing was inconvenient, but manageable. 

Loki pressed his hand over the door and walked through, feeling as though he had no corporeal form. The technique was not as useful as it was to teleport, but his power was not stable enough for that, so he had to improvise.

When he opened his eyes, he was inside the sector 16 bay. The place was a workshop and there were many metallic parts scattered around, but what finally caught his attention was the evidence of the secret Obadiah was hiding from Tony.

Loki stared at the armor with a mixture of revulsion and disbelief. It looked like the Iron Man armor on steroids. It was too big and it looked too heavy and it was, without doubt, a full weapon of mass destruction.

This was Tony's work, cannibalized and mutated.

"You don't like it?"

Loki spun around fast to stare at Obadiah, who was pointing a gun at him.

"Mr. Stane..." Loki hissed in displeasure, "your creation—"

"Iron Monger, call it Iron Monger." The man had the cheek to smirk at him.

"Your creation," Loki repeated, "is a little too ostentatious for my taste."

"Oh, you prefer slender gold and red?" the man mocked, "I can't imagine why."

"I just like original things," Loki replied, smirking. "Not a big fan of remakes."

"Says the man who had been using the same name for the last three generations." 

"It's a family thing."

"Luke, you can't honestly expect me to believe that your grandfather and your father really entrusted you with the business of cleaning up the Stark family mess?" He asked, "What kind of life is that?"

"I am an ally," Loki hissed, "and the concept of loyalty is not strange to me."

"Oh? How can your father and you have the same level of loyalty?"

"I happen to appreciate Mr. Stark," he said simply, "As my father appreciated Stark Senior."

"Bullshit."

Loki narrowed his eyes, "You cannot determine where I stand."

"No, I'm calling bullshit on your so-called father," Obadiah aimed the gun at Loki's arm and fired. There was no sound, the gun had a silencer, but the effect was nonetheless the same.

Loki bit his tongue hard to muffle his reaction and cradled his injured arm against his chest.

"You are going to regret that." Loki's words were of anger; he felt his magic shimmering inside him, moving to heal the damage done by the bullet while he gathered more to attack. But first, he wanted to get more out of the man.

"Oh, really?" Obadiah fired again, this time to the opposite shoulder, making Loki fall onto the floor, "I don't think so."

Loki slowly stood on shaky legs and extended his uninjured shoulder to attack, not caring about the state of his forearm; he was expecting to be attacked again, but this time it's was not by a bullet. That, he didn’t anticipate.

The sound was hard and shocking, it clouded his senses but it was not enough to take him down, not fully. He fought hard to stay on his feet, trying to make sense of what was going on around him to escape.

"I gotta admit..." Obadiah's hand locked around his hair and he tugged hard, making him flitch, "You're tough."

Loki's trembling hands reached to Obadiah's, digging his fingernails as he snarled, fighting the paralyzing sound as it became louder.

"Nuh-uh, none of that." 

Obadiah pressed the gadget closer to Loki's ear and turned the level to maximum, finally making him buckle his knees and fall into Obadiah's arms.

"Now, that's much better..."

Loki's breath was shallow and hard, there was blood coming from his ears, the veins in his temple could be easily seen and his eyes were wild and wide, staring at Obadiah as he shifted him in his embrace to gently lay him face down on the floor.

There was something repulsive in Obadiah touch that made Loki's skin crawl, even in his current state. He hated the way the man was being careful to not hurt him further while smiling down at him, as if contemplating a riddle.

Obadiah tucked a few strands of hair from his face and Loki closed his eyes in repulsion at the mocking gentle touch, making the other man chuckle. Obadiah walked away from him then.

"There's something about you that I never could figure out," he said conversationally while looking for something around the place. "I always wondered... what exactly are you?"

Loki gritted his teeth, trying to focus his magic in repairing the damage done to his overloaded nervous system. 

"As I said, I don't believe it was your 'father' who died alongside Howard and Maria in that plane crash. I have the firm idea that he is not dead at all... Because it has been you all along."

Loki couldn't move, he couldn't even scream. He was in a very vulnerable position and he hated it.

"You could be useful to me," there was something malicious in his voice, "or you could make a great lab rat, both are just fine with me."

Obadiah came back and knelt next to him, Loki tried to move again but Obadiah just pressed the gadget closer to his ear, resuming the paralysis, and then cuffed Loki's hands behind his back. Satisfied with his work, Obadiah moved Loki onto his side, so he could see his face properly.

"Do you think Tony would mind if I take you with me?" Obadiah smirked as he showed Loki a headset. It looked like an advanced version of the gadget he was using constantly to keep him from fighting.

Loki tried to move again, but failed in doing so. Obadiah gently petted his hair and put the headset over his ears. 

"This is going to hurt, so, try to endure it."

The sound was even worse than the one produced by the gadget, and it was constant and clouding his senses completely. He barely felt when Obadiah lifted him up or the blood dripping down his face from his ears, he felt as if his head was about to explode, it hurt to think, it hurt to breathe. He had to close his eyes because the light was hurting him too. It was a disaster.

He made a mistake by letting his guard down. Loki blamed his own stupidity and overconfidence, wondering why of the Nine Realms he didn't listen to his instincts. He knew Obadiah was bad news, he told Tony many times before, that even got him trapped in his pocket dimension and now, so relieved at being back into the world, he laid his suspicions down.

Obadiah was going to hurt Tony and it was Loki's own damn fault it would happen.

The self-loathing was coming back, even with the damn headset producing that horrible paralyzing frequency and as Obadiah locked him in the trunk of a car, he felt revulsion on top of everything.

Darkness was claiming his senses, the paralysis was taking too much of him. He felt as if his brain was going to slip through his ears. He wasn't sure if he was imagining the wetness running down his nose or not. 

As unconsciousness took him, Loki hoped his mistake wouldn't cost too much.

 

\---------------  
Interlude II  
\---------------

The concept of Immortality was not strange to Loki. He was a son of the gods of old, the prolongation of life was something he not only understood but experienced firsthand.

The real understanding of Immortality, however, was not that.

Loki's life spam was prolonged; he had the gift of longevity and the resistance beyond the human standards. That was what Loki knew as 'immortality'.

Being immortal, truly immortal, was simply having the inability to die.

It had its advantages, having such invulnerability, but it was mostly a curse.

Loki couldn't comprehend why some humans desire immortality more than anything else. Some even cursed their lives to reach something alike it. But those were not seeking true immortality, no, they were seeking longevity.

It was at the time of speculations and when humans believed in witches, curses and demons more firmly that he discovered he was immortal, not long-lived, but immortal. Something he wasn't before the contract.

He couldn't die. 

Not even when the fire consumed his flesh and his throat was sliced to silence his screams, he wouldn't die. 

His eyes were gouged out, his insides torn inside out and his tongue was cut out, and he wouldn't die.

It's was just agony. The pain made his existence a misery. The punishment he was receiving for no good reason wouldn't end, not even when there was nothing else from him to take.

"Well, that's interesting."

Joel's descendent proved to be madder than his father and made Loki a true slave, a victim of this mad man's experiments and a scapegoat for his crimes.

"Let's try the fire again, shall we?"

The agony consumed his flesh and bones and as long as there was a human with the blood of the family he was bound to serve, he wouldn't die.

It was then, between endless pain and misery, that Loki understood why immortality was a curse.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. End of quarters get crazy sometimes.   
> Anyway, thanks to my beta Dunicha for helping me out with this story :)

\---------------  
Part IV  
\---------------

Loki stood in the halls of the Golden Palace of Asgard with nothing but his own thoughts for company.

The city was deserted; there was no sound or evidence of life. In Loki's dreams, Asgard was a phantom field.

He stood very still as the scenery shifted around him, changing from the halls of the palace to the courtyard and finally to the gardens outside.

Nothing moved and nothing felt alive; the still image of a world frozen in time and memory was all Loki had from home in his mind.

And yet, he missed it.

The place was in everlasting twilight, for it was the memory of the last time Loki saw it. He wouldn't change a thing; he didn't want to forget, so in his mind, the still image remained untouched.

He walked around the desolated place, his fingers barely touching the surfaces as he hover his hand over them. His face remained blank.

It was such a shame to miss a place that he wasn't sure welcomed him anymore. He didn't know and he had done nothing to find out, scared of his fears becoming reality, so he let it be, preferring to keep the memory than go in a impossible search that may have negative results.

Maybe someday he would change his mind, but today was not that day.

As he kept on watching the twilight, he felt a pulse beneath his breast and the echo of something like a second heart beat in the rhythm of his own.

"What is it now?"

He could see Tony. He was sitting on a couch. He looked like a corpse and his arc reactor was missing.

"No!" 

Obadiah was holding the stolen arc reactor and leaving Tony behind. Loki closed his eyes and forced himself out of his dream land.

Duty calls.

\-----

Loki woke up in darkness, with a ringing headache and nausea turning his stomach. It took him a moment to realize he was blindfolded and that his hands were still cuffed behind his back and his ankles had been tied up as well. He was laying on a soft surface, which rang all kind of alarm bells to him, and his mouth had been taped shut.

Fantastic.

He tested his bonds, finding that his wrists were sore from being cuffed. The ringing sensation in his ears and the headache were most likely after-effects of being exposed too long to the paralyzing frequency of the headset Obadiah had used on him. Loki was sure the dammed thing had actually damaged something in his head, but if so, it would be mostly healed by now. It still annoyed him, though.

Loki's senses concentrated on finding his binding to Tony, confirming it was still there and that he was at least alive. Of his condition he knew nothing, but he hoped it was favorable.

Well, at least there was that.

There was a strange sensation around his wrists. The runes felt cold as freezing water, raising a strange feeling in him. Tony wasn't angry, he was... worried?

Puzzled, Loki slowly sat up, confirming he was on a bed - and avoiding thinking of the implications of that - and working on loosing his bonds. He let the magic crawl from his skin towards the cuffs, entering the lock and working its mechanism to open them. 

He was almost done when there was a loud bang and a series of footsteps entering the room. He would have glared, if he wasn't blindfolded, at whoever it was, probably.

"Mr. Skyfall!" He knew that voice. "Oh, let me help you."

There were hands on his shoulders as well of his ankles and his wrist and Loki repressed the urge to yell not to be touched - even with his mouth taped.

The blindfold came off and he blinked several times to adjust his vision. The lights were off, he was surrounded by agents holding flashlights – a few wearing heavy protection equipment – and before him was Agent Coulson, looking concerned.

Loki observed the room. He was in Obadiah's house in the master bedroom.

As soon as he had his hands free he yanked the tape off his mouth, hissing at the burning sensation and took a deep breath.

"I—" He coughed to clear his voice; his throat felt oddly sore. "I would like to leave this place, if you don't mind."

Agent Coulson gave him a look Loki didn't want to think of as pity. It was more likely understanding than pity anyway; Loki had the bad habit of misreading kindness towards him.

"Of course," Coulson said evenly, "But I would like to take you to the medical team afterward."

Loki frowned, not understanding why, but the look of the agent that had just finished cutting the binding around his ankles told him what he needed to know. Loki shifted his gaze towards himself, finding out there was blood soaking his shirt and pants, not to mention all over the bed around him.

He didn't remember Obadiah hurting him in any other way than the headset - the damned thing was still in the nightstand beside the bed - and other than the headache he felt more or less fine.

"Oh, I... there's so much..." He wasn't being honest about his panic, but it was most likely the reaction a 'normal' person would have, so he proceed with it, "W-What happened?"

"It's going to be fine, Mr. Skyfall, please calm down and allow us to get you out of here."

"Y-Yes."

He allowed Agent Coulson to take his arm to lead him out of the house and didn't protest when the paramedics fussed over him, changing his stained clothes to a pair of scrubs to make sure there was no injures under the garments. They bandaged his sore wrists and ankles and proceeded to transported him to a secure medical facility; Agent Coulson was with him the whole time.

After a few quick tests, they concluded he had anemia and the doctor refused to let him go for the moment. They relocated him to a private room.

Once he had a moment to himself, he lowered his eyes and looked at his hands. Agent Coulson entered the room a few minutes later with a tray of food in his hands.

"I'm afraid to ask," said Loki, still playing the post-traumatic card and refusing to think he actually might be affected in reality, "Tony?"

"He is fine," Agent Coulson smiled, "there was a rather flashy incident, but overall, he is fine."

"I see..."

"He is actually verbally abusing the staff to gain access to see you," Loki saw the man roll his eyes and couldn't help but chuckle, "Are you up for a visit?"

"Yes," he said quickly, "I feel... fine."

Agent Coulson pursed his lips, "You don't look fine, but I'll let him in anyway." 

He placed the tray in the table and left the room. Loki wondered how he looked to give the man such an impression of his condition.

Tony rushed into the room a few minutes later; he had cuts and bruises and gave the impression of a man who had a round with a punching bag where the aforementioned bag won.

Before Loki could utter a word, Tony's hands were on his face. He was so close he startled Loki.

"You're ok, you're ok, he was lying, you're ok, oh my God," Tony pressed a kiss on Loki's forehead, making him go stiff for a moment and then let go, falling across Loki's legs on the bed.

"Humm..." Loki tentatively placed a hand over Tony's head as the man turned to his side to talk.

"He said he killed you," Tony mumbled. "He described to me how he sliced your throat and how you bled to dead," he made dried chocked sound, "I'm glad he was lying."

Loki's hand froze. 

His clothes were ruined, his throat was sore when he woke up, and he had anemia.

"I..." He closed his eyes; there was a vague image of Obadiah looming over him, a sick smile on his face and a very sharp looking blade in hand. The image itself was blurry and Loki was not certain it was real or just his mind making things up.

"Loki?"

He couldn't hear Tony's voice; all he could hear was the headset's frequency paralyzing his body and the sensation of choking.

"I think he wasn't lying..."

\-----

Pepper hugged him until he was near the point of fainting for the lack of oxygen. He didn't protest, but wouldn't admit he needed it either.

The official story was that the blood had been caused by the nose hemorrhage he had as a consequence of being exposed to the paralyzing frequency for too long. No one acknowledged the fact that it was far too much blood and such a hemorrhage would have been fatal if that was the case.

It had been fatal. Technically speaking, Obadiah had killed him. If he was regular human - or even Ás - being, that's it.

His body had mended the damage, his magic replaced the lost blood and his mind had shutdown the traumatic experience.

It had not been the first time Loki went through such event, but it was nowhere near pleasant each time it happened, so he would never get used to it.

Obadiah was dead, at least that was over.

The organization that had been looking after Tony, better known as S.H.I.E.L.D now, were the ones that helped him to clean up the mess done in the area of the large Arc Reactor and sector 16. Loki got the whole story from Agent Coulson and the details from Tony himself.

"We were in the air," Tony mumbled, "He was trying to distract me and... he told me he found you in sector 16, that it was such a shame he had to kill you... he described the whole process..."

Loki couldn't remember and he was not making any efforts to do so, usually his mind would only shut down the memory for a good reason.

Instead of continuing the topic, Loki handed Tony the newspaper of the incident in the Arc Reactor bay while Pepper was doing a quick make up job for Tony to give a press conference.

"So, Iron Man," Loki said in a bemused tone. "Sounds nice."

"It does have a nice ring to it, doesn't it?" Tony welcomed the change of subject, not wanting to keep the image of Loki bleeding to death in his head. "A little off, though, the armor, it's not actually iron but the title sounds catchy."

Loki handed him the cards Agent Coulson gave him, "Go, and give an explanation to why we have an overloaded reactor."

"Just out of hospital and this pushy already?"

"It's my job."

"Uh-hm," Tony made a face, "Pepper, were you listening, Iron Man?"

"Yes, but I'm with Loki on this one, go and give your explanation so we can close this chapter and move on."

"Come on!"

"Go!"

When Tony starting arguing with Miss Everdeen about superheroes and whatnot, Loki's eyes twitched and Pepper started rubbing her temple, feeling the headache coming.

It didn't surprise them when he declared himself Iron Man.

Back to business for both of them it seems.

\-----

Nick Fury became part of their lives with a dramatic entrance and a proposition for Tony. 

Loki didn't know what to make of the man, there was a voice in the back of his head that was telling him he should listen to him. Oddly enough, that voice sounded like Howard's, to Loki's further confusion.

He remembered Agent Coulson saying something about knowing his "father", which wasn't possible, because Loki's father was realms away and the one that had been Luke Skyfall's father was him with another name and a slightly different appearance.

Still, there were many possibilities and it wouldn't be the first time something strange had happened to him.

Tony, on the other hand, looked both delighted and confused about the whole incident. Loki knew it was just a mask; the odd feeling Tony was projecting to him was good enough evidence.

His suspicion became clear that night, when Tony let go of the facade and finally acknowledged the full impact of Obidah's betrayal.

"I trusted him." Tony's voice was low and controlled, but the way he held his glass of scotch, as if he wanted to break it with his bare hand, said otherwise. "I hurt you because I trusted him."

Loki had no answer to that; it was nothing but the truth, after all.

"I remember that night," Tony's sight was far away, in a distant past, "I was angry and hurt, I think I was drunk too... So I searched for a green stone... I got malachite and I thought it had no style, so I brought a fucking emerald and smeared it in my blood."

"Tony, stop."

"I drew the runes on the floor with a laser, to make sure nothing could erase them."

"Please stop."

"And I called you," he narrowed his eyes, "I used the emerald to amplify my order."

"Stop."

"And I made you sleep."

"STOP!" Loki's yell snapped Tony back to reality, "Cease your rambling, I don't want to hear it."

"Loki..."

"Keep your word and respect my opinion," there was an edge of anger very clear in his collected words and even half drunk, Tony noticed it.

"I'm sorry..."

"No, you're not," he pointed out, "but that's fine."

"But I am sorry!"

"You don't even remember half the things you did to me, Anthony," Loki's expression changed for something softer, "You cannot be sorry for things you cannot recall."

"But I—"

"Leave it be," he sighed, "please."

The silence that followed was awkward and more than a bit irritating, but Tony respected it and didn't take up the subject again, at least not for the moment. Loki had the feeling that they would have a proper confrontation regarding the subject soon enough, but he was sincerely hoping to delay it as much as possible.

No one likes to remember the moment when one had been near the shattering point, after all.

 

\---------------  
Interlude III  
\---------------

Loki was no stranger to the concepts of pain and misery. He had experienced both firsthand and was not particularly fond of them. For that very same reason he did all he could to avoid them.

Joel's son was a cruel man; there was no doubt about that. He had a fascination with odd things and Loki was one of those odd things he was unhealthily obsessed with. For that very same reason, as soon as Joel's life came to an end and Loki's line of main servitude changed to his son, the mad man had decided to test Loki's limits until he almost made the bound deity go mad.

Loki had never despised his newfound immortality as much as that time in his life, if only because dying would mean an end to his suffering. Yet, once his flesh and bones were mended and his senses restored, he thought about that notion in more detail.

He lay on the floor stained with his dry blood and tears, unmoving, contemplating the darkness.

As the silence prolonged and his panic ceased, something hardened inside him. He wondered if this particular bloodline he was to serve was cursed or if the present time was simply a dark one. Maybe it was something else entirely and he was performing his duty as a servant the wrong way.

The trap door of the cellar that was both his silent confine and torture chamber opened quietly. The soft steps, cautious, delicate, told Loki that this was not his 'master' coming to satisfy his sadistic curiosity again. No, this was something else.

Loki smiled.

"Did you have a bad dream, little one?" Loki rose from the floor as if he had not been three times dead a few hours ago, showing a tender caring face to the little girl at the stairs.

"Not a dream... Daddy was hurting you again," her voice was as quiet, barely above a whisper, "I don't like when daddy hurts you."

Loki dusted off his clothes and kneeled in front of the little girl, and said, "You are a blessing, dear Marianne. A blessing your father doesn't appreciate."

Mariana's lower lip trembled a little and Loki smirked in the dark as he extended his arms for her. Marian didn't need another invitation; she practically jumped from the steps to Loki's waiting arms.

"He's so angry with me," she sobbed quietly, "It wasn't my fault mommy got sick..."

"No, it was no one's fault, dear one." Loki kissed her hair and stood up with the girl in his arms, "Sometimes, these things happen..."

"But, but, but..." Her lower lip was trembling again, "He is blaming my little brother too and he is so little... just a baby!"

"Oh..."

Loki frowned. He knew Marianne's mother was with child, now that child was born and Marianne's mother was sick. She probably will not make it. That would explain his 'master's' awfully dark mood. Still, that was no excuse to mistreat the children.

"He's crying all the time; I think he is hungry..." 

"Hmm..." Loki licked his lips and as he climbed up the stairs of the cellar. There was the sound of a baby crying in the distant, a very young babe. "Let's tend to your brother, shall we?"

"Please."

The baby was in Marianne's room, in the middle of her bed surrounded by pillows to prevent him from rolling over to the edge. He was not even properly clean from the birth and the little one was so very hungry.

"The water is cold," Marian said, "I couldn't find hot water, so I used a cloth to clean him up."

"It is fine, you did well." 

Loki brought a large vessel and filled it with water, then used his magic to heat it up. Under Marianne's loving gaze he bathed her baby brother, whose cries were turning into exhausted hiccups by now.

There was danger for such small creature being neglected just a few hours after his birth. 

Loki quickly conjured a bottle with warm milk and honey and the baby accepted it with gusto. He wrapped the baby in soft clean blankets and sat on the bed along Marianne.

"Are you feeling better, Arthur?" Marianne asked sweetly, "I named him Arthur."

"It's a beautiful name," Loki said as he held baby Arthur close while feeding him, "And he loves you very much, for you have been the first to show him affection."

"But you love him too, don't you, Loki?" Marianne moved close and rested her head on Loki's lap, a big yawn followed and little Marianne closed her eyes.

"Yes..." Loki eyed Arthur, who was calm and happy to be fed and then Marianne, "I do."

"And you love me?"

"...Of course."

Mariana's hand closed around Loki's tunic as she sifted to bury her face in his chest.

"Daddy doesn't love me anymore." Loki could feel Marianne's tears falling on his skin, "And he doesn't love Arthur either, he thinks Arthur made mommy sick."

Loki considered what to do and how to do it. 

He hated Marianne's father. He despised the man for what he was and for everything he represented. But he was bound to serve him, unless...

Loki's main duty was to protect the bloodline and the heirs were here, in his arms and beside him in the middle of the dark room.

Maybe...

"Hush little one, cry no more," he said softly and shifted Arthur in his hold, laying the bottle aside, to hold Marianne with his other arm. "I'm here; I'll always be here for you."

"You will?" Marianne asked with tears in her eyes. "Will you protect me and my brother and loves us both?"

"If you want me to."

"Yes!" Marianne clung to him, "Yes, I want you to!"

"I will do it, then."

\-----

It had been easy to lead the kids outside the house and guide Marianne to do what he could not, for he could not harm his 'master', not directly anyway.

He told the little girl awful things of her father as the man drowned in his depression, clinging to his wife's corpse. He told Marianne her father did blamed Arthur for her mother's death and he would never love him because of that. That he would take the child away or hurt him before he would accept him.

Marianne had been so scared of losing her baby brother that it was almost too easy to plant the idea of leaving their father to save Arthur.

But Loki couldn't leave, not as long as the mad man was still his 'master'.

But Marianne was a smart little girl and she figured out that if her father was gone, then she would have Loki to herself.

Loki didn't say a thing when Marianne spared several lamps' oil all over the wood floors and obeyed when she asked him to take Arthur outside. She was crying when she tossed the torch into the trail of oil and covered her ears to not listen, not that she would have heard a thing; her father had been too drunk, still clinging to the rotting corpse of his wife to notice the fire.

Marianne's innocence died that night, while the fire that was Loki's element fueled her conviction.

He felt the moment his command passed to Marianne and felt the distress she was going through for what she had done.

"I wish this was just a bad dream," she told Loki once the house had burned to the ground. "Can you make me wake up from the bad dream?"

"Of course, dear."

"Thank you."

So Loki made Marianne think her father had been a good man and that he loved her and her brother. He made Marianne remember her mother's smile and a happiness that had faded a long time ago; a happiness that ended with a tragic accident and the promise of Marianne taking care of her brother instead of the reality. 

That's how Loki found himself walking the paths outside town with a little girl in hand and a baby in his arm, walking away from their old lives. 

Maybe he should feel bad of taking advantage of Marianne's affection towards him, but he had hated her father too much not to be the force behind his retribution.

He smiled to himself as Marianne hummed a happy tune and Arthur giggled in contentment as they walked away.

Oh, it had been such a long time since he had tasted such sweet revenge.

Loki would enjoy the moment. He knew it wouldn't last, vengeance rarely did. He didn't know if that was a fair thing or not, but it really didn't matter.

What really mattered was the future of the bloodline, Marianne's and Arthur's lives and what would become of them. Maybe now that the madness of their father and grandfather had been left behind, Loki could make it up to them and preserve what little good was left in the blood running through their veins.

He felt a spark in his chest, the flame was stirring. 

"Oh, is this the right path?" He could feel the flame moving, dancing in approval, "So be it."

It took him decades of pain and more bloodshed than he expected, but maybe, just maybe, the bloodline could indeed be saved.

He saw Marianne smile while Arthur cooed in delight as a butterfly passed by them and his mind felt peace for the first time since his awakening by Joel's call.

"Here's to the future," he mumbled, "hoping it will be lesser in darkness."

Marianne didn't understand his words but that was fine. As long as he understood what he must do, there was no need for his mistress to worry.

As Arthur giggled in his arms and Marianne jumped ahead, chasing the butterfly, the road didn't look so hopeless anymore.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huh... The muse went on Holiday, sorry about the wait.

\---------------  
Part V  
\---------------

Loki liked to sit outdoors at night and watch the stars. He would do so in silence for hours, and sometimes even until the sun started to come up. He would just sit and stare at the sky. Sometimes he would part his lips as if he was about to say something but in the end he remained in silence.

Tony was aware of this. 

This habit of Loki's had been a constant in his otherwise dedicated routine of taking care of Tony's mess. This was something Loki did for himself and no one else, for as long as Tony could remember. Howard never said anything about it, and the only time Tony asked his mother about this, she just shrugged it off telling him Loki was entitled to have time of his own.

Now, many years later and a fight that made Tony look and feel like a horrible person, Loki had changed his pattern in this and wasn't looking at the stars.

This action not only affected Tony, but made him feel worse than he thought possible as he stood watching Loki stare out the window of his room but not moving to the terrace to stare at the stars.

Tony walked slowly until he was standing behind Loki, who didn't move nor raise his eyes from the far away spot on the window he had fixed his gaze onto.

"How much have I hurt you?" There was pain and shame in his voice; the tone made Loki frown. "You said I don't remember, that I can't be sorry, but I..."

Loki's shoulders dropped slightly but he didn't turn. "Leave it." The tone was plain, as if he didn't care. "Words have power Tony, even if you don't pay attention to them."

Tony didn't understand that statement, but he made a promise to himself at that moment. He was going to recount and find out exactly what Loki meant by that, no matter what it took.

\-----

There was an image in Tony's head; he wasn't sure if it was a memory or something constructed by his own imagination, but it was always there and it felt real nonetheless.

In this picture he was younger, carefree and utterly impulsive, even more so than today. His grin was full of charm and the way he carried himself gave no doubt of who he was. He never covered the tattoo on his left wrist and constantly moved as if he owned the world.

He probably did. 

That wasn't the tricky part, no. The part he didn't know was true or a figment of his imagination was the image of Loki laying on his bed half naked with a hard blush on his cheeks and panting for air. He felt a rush that went straight to his groin just by recalling that image and he felt a little ashamed of himself, but not enough to stop analyzing the picture.

Have he ever taken Loki to bed or was this just a desire of his? He wasn't sure anymore.

But the lust that crawled from the pit of his stomach and back? That was completely real, it had always been. Tony narrowed his eyes, pondering Loki's words and wondering what the trickster was hiding from him. 

Tony licked his lips and closed his eyes, trying to shake the lust and the image and concentrate on more important matters, like finding out what he was missing.

"Words have power..." He was well aware of this, for he had seen Loki use them skillfully almost all his life. 

Almost. 

"Wait a minute," a shiver ran down Tony's back as the lustful image morphed in one of him screaming and Loki yelling back, the runes around his wrist illuminated with a glowing angry red color.

"JARVIS, I want the surveillance videos from my private server." He'd locked himself in his workshop, determined to find something he vaguely thought was there.

"Of course Sir, would you like a specific date to start with?"

"Yes," Tony composed himself and concentrated, "Five years ago, anywhere from the months before my fight with Loki."

JARVIS didn't answer for a long moment and Tony feared the videos no longer existed, if the circumstances had made him delete them, but he didn't remember doing it, so it couldn't be—

"The videos are protected Sir, would you like me to begin the decrypting process?"

Tony let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, "Yes... Yes do that."

Bingo, something hidden from him on his own server, something he hid, even if he couldn't recall now.

"Words have power," Tony muttered as the display showed the progress, "Even when you don't mean them."

I want to forget this ever happened.

"Fuck."

\-----

Loki couldn't lie to his master and he couldn't disobey a direct order from said master, but he could play around it, as he had always done.

There was doubt and guilt rising in waves coming from Anthony and Loki wondered what he would do once he found out the whole story, the same story Loki himself couldn’t tell him because he had forbidden him to do so. An order was an order, even if the one that gave it couldn't remember it.

The flame in his chest stirred and he clutched a hand against it, he felt his throat close and gasped for breath. Loki lowered himself to the bed and curled into himself, trying to calm his racing heart the burning fire under his breast.

Suddenly there was a rush of fear and it was not coming from him, he could feel the cold washing off from the runes on his wrist and then to his whole being; this feeling was Tony's. 

“So...” he said to himself with a chuckle, “You’re about to find the whole picture of a line your mind has already traced.” He laid back and relaxed.

There was a morbid part of him that was looking forward to this event. Loki rolled his eyes at his own thoughts, questioning his sanity not for the first time then making a correction of that statement.

Of course he was closer to insanity than anything else, he knew that very well. It was no news, at least, not to him.

\-----

Tony stared at the images playing on the screen with an arctic cold freezing his guts and a lack of voice to express their impact on him.

The videos had sound, but Tony had shut it down, feeling it too obscene, even for him. Maybe it was because it was him on the screen, lying with Loki, as if his fantasy had come to life, but he could see yet not remember it.

The footage was not fake, at least he had found no indication that it was. Besides he was able to recognize his own movements and reactions. They were violent and possessive, a part of him that didn't surface very often yet existed and he knew very well what it made him capable of.

Had he taken Loki against his will? It didn't look like it on the screen, but then again, he could change the god's will by simply stating an order, so he couldn't be sure, not really, not if his memory was not backing him up in the slightest.

But why? Why would he do something like that?

"Play the next one, JARVIS."

"Yes, Sir."

He watched the videos over and over again with strange fascination. He couldn't help but feel hypnotized by the motion pictures he was seeing, images reaching levels of erotic to plain obscene in no predictable scale.

And he couldn't stop watching.

He returned the audio for a short moment to hear a very small, almost non-existent exchange of words that couldn't actually be labelled a conversation.

"You're mine."

"...Yes."

There was something wrong with the way Loki agreed with his claim, something that sent a shiver down Tony's spine.

He stopped the videos and slowly but with determination made his way to Loki's room.

\-----

"We used to fuck." 

Loki rolled his eyes at the blunt statement.

"This is not a question."

"No, it's a fact," Tony hissed. "Before the fight, we used to fuck, and I claimed you as mine."

"Yes, you did that." 

Loki didn't look up from his book nor move from the comfortable spot on the bed he had made for himself to sit. He could feel Tony's mirrored emotions on him, the anxiety, the frustration, the lust and even the guilt, all mixed up in a deadly combination that made Loki wonder how many emotions a sentient being is able to hold before breaking down.

Tony took the book from his hands and pushed him to fully lie on the bed, straddling him. Loki didn't have any resistance and stared back at Tony with bored eyes.

"I don't remember any of it happening."

"Well, that's not my problem."

"But it did happen." Tony made a face. "Confirm that for me."

An order. Loki narrowed his eyes, feeling anger stir in his gut, "Yes, it happened."

"Tell me why I don't remember it."

The runes around his wrist felt warm as the binding remained him that he couldn't defy an order, nor lie to his master, not when the statement was clear and so straightforward.

"Because I put a veil in your memory for you not to do so," Loki hissed.

"Why did you do that?" Tony's hands were on Loki's neck, not making pressure, but the dominant gesture was more than enough to annoy Loki.

"You told me to do so," Loki purred and he felt the sick strange feeling waving from Tony stir his own emotions, "Words have power--"

"Even if you don't mean them." Tony concluded and his fingers tightened around Loki's throat, "Tell me! Tell me everything!"

Loki winced slightly as Tony enclosed his hands around his throat, Loki's own hands coming to rest over Tony's wrists. The runes were burning with the weight of the order yet to be fulfilled and the wave of anger and fear Tony was projecting to him.

"What—" Loki gasped, "do you want to know?"

"Why would I want to forget? Why did we really fight about? Why did I decide to seal you into a fucking pocket dimension over you telling me Obadiah was a being dishonest with me? As if I didn't suspect something already... I want to understand WHY!"

Loki closed his eyes as Tony leaned forward, hissing into his ear, "And you're gonna tell me everything, that's an order."

The trickster gave him an icy glare in return, tapping Tony's wrist; in return Tony loosened his grip but kept his hands resting over Loki's neck.

"You told me I was yours," Loki began, "I am, but only as an object, a servant, even as a slave, but the way you want me to be? No, Tony, I cannot be yours that way."

Those same words were echoing in Tony's head, as if something in his mind was stirring. The images on the screen no longer felt like something that happened to someone else; slowly Tony was making them his once again.

Tony's eyes fluttered shut and he gritted his teeth in frustration. Something akin to reason floated in his mind. Loki's words were important, the statement was the key and he was starting to figure it out.

"I wouldn't take that well," he mumbled, "And I didn't, hmm?" Tony sighed, "I want to know more, tell me why I can 'own' you."

When he met Loki's eyes, the trickster was looking utterly unfazed by his self discovery, and he almost looked disappointed.

"I cannot give something that doesn't even belong to me in first place," Loki said evenly. "To be sentimentally owned, I am required to give my feelings by will and that I do not possess."

"What?"

"My life and my will, Anthony, they are not mine, not anymore," Loki smirked, "but neither are they yours, no, what is yours is my persona, my body, my service, everything you want to use and abuse, everything that is me that has not been taken already. You can even have my sanity, or what is left of it, anyway."

Loki's smirk was utterly disturbing and Tony repressed the sudden urgent need to slap that expression off Loki's face.

"You're avoiding me; I want to know what happened."

Tony's voice didn't shake, but his hands did and Loki slowly pushed himself upright, one hand over Tony's arc reactor, pushing him forward but not off his lap.

"You were angered," Loki continued, "for my feelings were true yet I could not give you what you wanted, because my life and my will don't belong to me anymore. You wanted to know why and I told you."

"Tell me again."

Loki's lips pursed into a thin line and he remained silent for a long moment, but Tony didn't push it. The order was given, and Loki would obey eventually.

"I traded my life for a second chance for Asgard to be." There was a tremor in Loki's voice, but Tony pretended not to notice, "As consequence I lost my will and was sentenced to serve and protect a mortal bloodline, for in the short but meaningful lives of mortals lurks power... an undying, special power that can fuel even the most hopeless of causes..."

"You're not making sense," Tony whispered and dodged Loki's gaze, "I thought Asgard had rejected you."

"I never said they didn't." There should be more feeling on that phrase, but Loki's tone was plain, as if didn't matter. Tony felt disturbed by this.

"Then... why?"

Loki smiled. It didn't reach his eyes. "Because I am an over-sentimental fool."

Tony knew then what had bothered him about Loki's inability to truly give himself to him and if Tony couldn't have him, then... no one will?

"Oh God," he scrambled off the bed, covering his face with his hands, "Oh God, oh God, Oh my fucking God, DAMN IT!"

The memory was not dusted and distant anymore, it was there, clear as water and it made him sick.

Back at that time, he wanted Loki and if he couldn't have him, truly have him, then no one would. Not even Asgard, no one.

Was that selfish, sickening thought actually his? For some reason it didn't feel alien or distant, it very much felt like something the Tony of those days would have thought. Heartbroken and angry at someone that couldn't help his situation.

What a sick bastard he could be.

He laughed at his own conclusion as Loki watched him from the other side of the room.

"I said something like, I want to forget or what?"

"And order is an order," Loki said evenly, "It's not the first time someone from your linage asked me for mind oblivion, for a better but fake memory instead of the truth... You ask, I deliver."

"Yeah well, fuck you!"

What else he could say? Loki only did what Tony had told him to, even while bleeding in the lab in the middle of the circle Tony plastered to the floor, casting a binding order and repenting at the last second, wishing to forget, but with the damage already done.

And then... then he called Loki back to his side, years later, as if he had been the offended party.

Loki sighed, unimpressed with Tony's behavior, and Tony himself just grumbled under his breath some more and then went back to the bed, pushing Loki to it and crushing their lips together.

He didn't want to think right now and from the looks of it, Loki didn't want to think either.

They could keep on digging through their cluster-fuck of mistakes later.

\-----

"You wanted to help me," Loki whispered, his naked back to Tony and the sheet barely covering the rest of his body, "You wanted to do something to give me my will and my life back."

Tony was shamelessly naked besides him, not even bothering to cover himself with the sheets, his back against the headboard and a drink in hand.

"I obviously didn't succeed," he took a long sip and stared at Loki, spotting the numerous spots and bruises his fingers and mouth left on the trickster’s skin with something akin to pride.

"You can't, no one can, and it’s part of the deal... I'm not done yet... I still need time."

Tony remained silent for a moment, then sighed, "Would you ever tell me the whole story without me ordering you to do so?"

He heard Loki chuckle, "I would rather not."

"Huhmmm..."

"I probably will," Loki rolled over to look at him in the eye, "You are a gods-forsaken bastard and sometimes I hate you with burning passion."

"Oh baby, please keep talking sweet to me."

"But other times I do think I feel the opposite."

"You won't actually say it, eh?"

"Would you?"

"Tricky question."

"You cannot expect less from me."

Tony's free hand came to rest on Loki's head, playing with the sweat-dampened streaks of dark hair. Loki closed his eyes and leaned into the touch.

"Loki..."

"You sealed me away in a dark and empty place, in a fake uneasy sleep, for several years, because you were jealous."

Tony went very still, he didn't dare breathe as Loki narrowed his eyes, accusation and anger boiling in them.

"Yes..." Tony mumbled, "I did that, didn't I?"

"And you realized how much of a bloody naff that made you and conveniently decided that you wanted it to be my fault, so you ordered it to be that way."

He didn't know how to answer that, except for a question.

"Do I really have that much power over you?" Tony had never actually thought about it. And now that his mind was sketching the picture, it made his stomach turn.

"Yes, Stark." It was incredible how Loki could turn his last name into an insult, "If you say jump, I ask how high, if you say dance, I ask to what tune, if you tell me to kneel, I will do it! I am your slave, until you pass me to your blood heir. I am yours in that sense, but don't ask me to enjoy it, just don't."

Tony covered his mouth with his hand, feeling a little bit sick. 

"This is no news," Loki raised an eyebrow, "Howard told you about it."

"My father told me that I should always respect you, that you were more than... more than a mere servant." 

Loki's features softened a bit at that statement, remembering his fondness for Howard Stark. Tony let him be for a few minutes, trying to put his own thoughts in order after Loki's words made their impact.

"Howard was kind to me," Loki said softly, "A few of your blood line had been, and for that I am grateful. It had made my sentence more bearable."

"Until I fucked up."

"Well, you have a gift for doing that."

Tony pressed the heels of his palms against his eyes, "Loki, I... I want to make it up to you; I want to understand you, I... I want to help you."

Loki sat up, moving his legs against his chest, not looking at Tony, "I don't think you can."

"Please?"

"Hmmm..." his eyes were far away, looking at another time and another place, "You cannot save me, Tony."

Tony grunted and yanked Loki to his lap, kissing his lower lip slowly, almost gently. 

"Won't you even let me try?"

"You do not know what you are fighting against."

"So tell me, please, at least let me try to understand... please, I don't want to order you to do this, I don't want to force you."

Loki pressed his forehead against Tony's and smiled. It was sad and resigned, but it was a smile nonetheless.

"Well then... I should start from the beginning, shouldn’t I?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Dunicha for being her awesome self and beta-read this for me!

\---------------  
Interlude IV  
\---------------

The attack was sudden, unexpected, and even if Asgard was the most prominent house of warriors, such an attack still stirred their defenses. 

The Fire Giants invaded the land, their burning flames spreading all over the city as men fought and woman protected the children with fierce force, a race of warriors in every sense.

Thor unleashed the thunder, his anger at seeing his people attacked fueling his ire while Odin guided the forces for defense. Loki stood beside his brother.

"Call for the rain," he said while looking over the city. "The fire will go wild otherwise."

"Aye, brother."

And he did; Loki observed how the weather bended and twisted at his brother's will as he called for the rain to control the fire. 

Loki didn't tell him to kill the fire or that the flames would cause destruction, only that it could go wild if they didn't put a limit. Fire was alive and its voice reached Loki all the time; he couldn't label fire as bad, not when he believed it to be beautiful.

Mounted on his loyal steed, Loki raced the streets as the attack continued, his whisper of magic calling for the fire to stop hurting, to calm down, and the fire listened.

Such concentration was required to call to the fire that he didn't notice the leader of the Fire Giants approach until he was almost over him. Loki was thrown from his horse, landing painfully on his side and it took him a second to regain his senses, stand and fight.

The flame lashed against him and Loki saw wildfire that wouldn't listen to his call. He suddenly felt scared but the scream never left his lips. 

There was a clash and white noise around him, suddenly everything was steam and rain alongside the fire. Loki heard the laugh of the Giant and he opened his eyes to see his hands extended over a wall of crumbling ice, the heat around him at bay, replaced by a cold breeze and the faint smell of winter.

"A Frost Giant among Aesir," the enemy was backing off, turning to leave, "my master will hear of this."

Loki was in utter confusion for a second, until he saw a glimpse of his own reflection in the melting ice. His skin was washed off blue and his eyes were blood red, it was fading quickly, but it was there. 

The second prince of Asgard felt hollow for a second, but it lasted no more than that, for the city was still on fire and the people he still acknowledged at his own needed him.

When the enemy was pushed off the city and Asgard was once again safe, Loki didn't felt like celebration, not when his mind was such a turmoil. It was obvious he was not at ease, but when his (not?) brother asked if there was something he could do for him, Loki politely refused.

This was something he had to solve on his own.

\-----

He couldn't sleep, not after the events of the previous day, so he wandered across the halls of the palace instead, his steps taking him in a direction he was not consciously thinking, yet once he arrived, he wasn't completely surprised of the reached destination.

It was an impulse. Deep down he knew he should have just turned around and left, yet Loki found himself in the vaults of Asgard, looking at the Casket of Ancient Winters.

Loki placed his ungloved hand over the Casket, watching as the blue crawled from his fingertips towards the rest of his body, washing up his entire being, releasing a sense of comprehension Loki he didn't know could belong to him.

He was a Frost Giant among the Aesir, within the noble family, a prince of a race that ultimately wasn't his own.

Loki didn't know what to make of it.

Without moving his hand from the Casket he removed his other glove by biting it and pulling it off, letting it fall carelessly to the floor. He observed his dark fingernails and the lines that traced the back of his hand up to his arm, his heart pounding in his ears as the realization sank deeper and deeper in him.

The Casket was singing a haunting melody of a land Loki had never really known with a dying voice that felt no more than a echo of what could have been, drowning him further in confusion.

The questions began to rise, the doubt feeding off his confusion. Why was he here if he was no son of Odin and Frigga? He was no bother of Thor by right of birth, was his whole life suddenly a lie?

No, it wasn't a lie, but it was not a full truth either; a half life he didn't know was hidden by the ignorance of such important details of his own nature.

Loki dropped his hand, releasing the Casket, and let himself fall onto his knees as the deep conflict fully hit him. With this new information many of the unspoken questions of his lifetime suddenly had a vague explanation if not a full understanding. He couldn't say he was a wolf raised among sheep, for that implied Aesir are completely free of any fault and he is not just by being. Such a thing was not true, so he dismissed the thought from his mind.

"So, I'm adopted," he mumbled under his breath. "Well, that explains some things."

He ran his hand through his hair and sighed as he moved from his knees to sit on the floor, the melody of the Casket still present in his ears.

Resting his back against the Casket's pillar, he moved his legs closer to his chest and rested his arms over them, lowering his head and closing his eyes. He felt dizzy and lost track of time.

"My son..." Odin's voice was soft, filled with a tenderness he had not heard from him since his childhood years. He felt Odin's hand over his head. "Loki."

"Am I truly? Your son?"

"Always."

There was no hesitation, not even for a second and that made Loki feel a little better.

Soon enough he was on his feet, Odin's hand over his arm guiding him out of the vault. Loki dared to peek over his shoulder, observing the Casket's light and faintly hearing its melody.

When he realized his father had guided him to the Royal chamber, he didn't fight as his mother embraced him dearly. He felt like a child again and he was much too tired to put on a face of pride; if he was to be honest with himself, he needed the reassurance that his parents were his own, even if he was not of their flesh and blood.

For some reason, he suddenly felt as if he owed Asgard much more than he could pay. It was a very uneasy sentiment.

\-----

The fire giants kept coming back, their attacks stronger each time they launched them upon Asgard. Only they knew the true intentions of these attacks, for they made no sense to the Aesir. They had no quarrel with Muspelheim and their people, until now.

The attacks were aimed in general chaos, but Loki could sense something else, like a whisper in the air... no, not in the air.

"The fire," Loki said in a low voice as he observed the battle on the far side of the city.

The flames were calling upon something, like a doe calling for its mother, running to get closer and closer, knowing its mother is near, even when it cannot see where.

Even if the feeling made sense, the whole context of it was madness. What would the fire so fiercely desire that it was raining flames upon Asgard?

Loki called the flames to his hands, whispering questions, seeking information. What do you want? How can I help you?

The fire curled in Loki's hands, morphing itself as a feline and mewing accordingly. It was tiny, a babe, for the fire didn't have enough strength on its own to take another form, not when its siblings were consuming Asgard alongside the battle cry of the Fire Giants.

Loki followed the fire cat to the palace itself, where it grew stronger, changing from a babe to a youngster as they walked further into the palace and finally an adult when they were upon the gates of the vault.

The battle was reaching the palace and he could hear his father arguing inside the vaults with his mother, a secret being untangled.

The cat hissed in anger and pounded at the door, Loki felt the sharp mixture of pain, dread, anger and terror as it fought to get inside, until Loki opened the door.

There, at the darkest part of the vault, Frigga stared at the creature with eyes full of surprise as Odin drowned a flame on a pedestal with a very dark and strange magic.

Loki saw the cat run into the flame, merging with it to give it strength and suddenly he understood what the fire accompanying the Giants wanted.

Another heart of a different realm, stolen from its rightful place and sealed deep in Asgard, as the Casket had been. This was part of the Heart of Muspelheim, The Eternal Flame.

He could feel the fire crying, for its mother flame was being murdered and in retribution, the children of fire will burn Asgard to the ground.

Odin was telling Frigga and now Loki that this was the only way; Surtur could not get the Eternal Flame again. His father might be right and the flame was dangerous artifact in the hands of the kind of Muspelheim, but drowning and killing the Eternal Flame was a crime against nature, against the spirit of Fire.

He couldn't let it happen.

Loki was moving before his mind caught up with his body, spreading magic to shove Odin aside and snatch the dying flame from its prison.

The guards saw the attack, his intentions misinterpreted and they rushed to defend their King. Frigga was screaming to not hurt his son and Loki felt confused and ashamed of lashing out, yet with the flame curling against his chest, he didn't regret it.

He ran. There was nothing else his mind could muster, so he ran and ran until he found himself in the city, guards tailing behind him and people screaming in confusion.

Loki could hear the words of confusion and claims of betrayal, but all he could really see was Asgard burning to the ground and the flame dying in his hands.

The shadow that covered him was the great warrior Surtur and suddenly he knew no more.

\-----

Loki opened his eyes, feeling cold. There was fire on the horizon. Asgard still burned.

"No, no, no, no!" He tried to get up, only to fall again, pain exploding in every cell of his body.

"It will burn, for they tried to kill our heart," said a grave voice. Loki tensed, knowing his demise was near. 

Surtur stood a few feet from him, his great sword Twilight in hand and his eyes impassive as he watched the Golden Realm burn.

"Here!" Loki reached for his breast, letting the flame come out and offering it to Surtur in desperation, "Take it!"

Surtur gave him a look that was so close to pity it made Loki uncomfortable. The fire warrior shook his head slowly. 

"It is dying, the damage is done..."

Loki eyed the tiny flame in his hands, it barely felt warm and its movements were slow, almost surrealistically slow.

"No, please, don't die..." 

Surtur knelt before him, placing a great finger under his chin to make him raise his head, "You care, the fire calls for you."

"I... I never wanted this to happen."

That much was true. The Eternal Flame was Mystic Fire, an element that sang to him along with ice and the magic of both, it curled in his breast and hummed in contentment, but now... now it was dying.

"Tell me, how can I repair this?"

"The Eternal Flame cannot be refueled by common fire." Surtur said, "It will regain strength by the will of those who burn and yet are reborn from ashes, fire of will."

"But, I don't... that sounds—"

"I will end Asgard," Surtur said calmly, "For the fire of my lands calls for revenge."

"No! Please!"

No matter his recent discovery, he still loved the Golden City; he still acknowledged it as his.

"Then you should pay the price, little prince." There was cruelty in Surtur's voice and Loki felt a shiver run down his spine. "I want your will."

"...What?"

"You will give me your will to feed the Eternal Flame and I will give Asgard a second chance."

He was desperate, his mind in confusion and fear and Asgard still burned.

"I accept!" he said, "Whatever you want take it from me but leave Asgard be!"

Surtur's smile was cruel and Loki knew that whatever was to come, he would suffer it.

"The world of mortals will burn your will, which is not yours anymore, over and over again, but you will rise and you will obey and the flame will gain strength."

The Eternal Flame curled against Loki's chest and it painfully forced its way inside him, curling beneath his breast, filling his iced body with warmth.

Loki screamed.

Surtur raised Twilight over him, its power encircling Loki in a ring of magic and fire.

"There is power in the blood and the blood of mortals is stubborn and full of will. You will serve a bloodline, protect them, lead them to the path most convenient to assure your survival, and obey every order of them. They will destroy you and reform you over and over again and the Flame with take that strength, and hear me well: if the bloodline ends before the Flame lives on its own again, you will have failed and I would end Asgard then."

A contract; Surtur was trapping him in a contract, and he had accepted without even hearing it properly. He was going to become a servant, a slave, of a mortal bloodline, for they will be his saviors and tormentors at the same time, until the Eternal Flame was in danger no more.

Loki closed his eyes, holding back a shout of despair, for he had practically sold himself into slavery and even if it was for the good of Asgard, it still hurt.

"Now, be gone!"

He was trapped in a simple green stone and sent to Midgard, Surtur’s words still echoing in his mind. Loki was unsure of their whole meaning, of how or even if this will change him. The fire danced in his chest and he felt the need to sleep, so he fell into a heavy slumber, tied by magic and anchored by his need to close his mind to the world and the sentence he had gotten himself into.

There was a voice, a tiny whisper in his head, asking him if it was really worth it.

He didn't know.

\-----

He was stirred from his slumber by the call of fire and magic, but it felt strange, as if the words were cut off and he couldn't hear the whole thought.

Loki opened his eyes to find himself kneeling on the floor over a circle painted in blood. He winced once he confirmed this and slowly got to his feet, noticing his clothing had changed to a simple tunic and trousers black and green in coloring.

His eyes scanned the room, finding a woman with bloody hands holding a green rock, staring at him in awe and wonder, a hint of fear in her eyes.

"It worked," she said to herself, "a demon heard my call and my enemies will fall now."

"I'm not a dem..." He felt pain and almost doubled over because of it, his wrist burned and the runes engraved themselves in his skin like shackles, while a single rune appeared on the woman’s wrist. Loki recognized it as Kaunaz, a rune he favored.

Loki sighed softly and slowly looked over the woman before him. "I am Loki... at your service."

The burning on his wrist lessened and he knew his obedience was required as great deal of his contract. It was very difficult, at first, to allow such things to happen, for he was not submissive by nature, much less to mortals. But the fire inside him was stirring and the image of Asgard consumed to the ground still haunted him.

He contemplated, more than once, to just let the bloodline die. It was easy to just not prevent damage to come to them, but when he did so the flame stopped its dance and it felt colder and colder, for there was no will to fuel it, so Loki swallowed his pride and allowed himself to suffer, making his death and rebirth possible for the Eternal Flame to feed off it.

There was a time in which he started to hate the flame beneath his breast with passion. He despised the element and how Odin was killing it for no other reason than meddling with the children of Muspell.

He went insane with rage and pain, making himself a true demon of the erroneous label he held and thus, making his mistress seal him in the narrow dark space he was to slumber, becoming a legend for the family that was to follow.

In the darkness, his mind healed and his soul rested. The grief was still there but the pain lessened and the rage subsided. Sanity found his mind again and he contemplated his reactions as though they had happened to someone else.

Loki didn't like what he saw in his insane self. There was cruelness in his smile and madness in his words, he barely made sense and chaos was his active flag.

If he was to be very honest with himself, he found this display more disturbing than anything else. The lack of logic and control were... strange. Even if he was named the God of Chaos, he always felt that chaos had its order in itself. He was sure the idea only made sense to him, but that was fine, at least he had a proof that his mind was healing, now that his thoughts were similar to those before the fall of Asgard and his demise to save her.

His slumber was uneasy anyway.

\-----

The first time he encountered a cruel master, one that took him apart and showed him he was unable to die, was when he understood Surtur's words properly.

Once his wounds were healed and the light back on his eyes, The Eternal Flame danced inside him, feeding off his will to live, even when his mind was wishing for an ending. His will was not his own anymore, it belonged to The Eternal Flame and the contract he made to sustain it until it was full in strength and mysticism again.

At that time, his mind drifted into madness again, for he had no other escape than his own thoughts, even when these were twisted and crippled.

It wasn't until he was confined to solitude once again that his mind healed and sanity found him again. Loki felt that even if his own madness made him uneasy, maybe not being able to suffer exactly what was happening to him would be a small mercy. He couldn't afford it, though, because in madness he couldn't remember if the Flame inside him moved or not.

When he was called for servitude once again, he made himself appear emotionless, not caring for the connection he had with his master. He ignored the emotions the mortal would share with him through the union of blood contract and would pretend he didn't care.

It almost worked.

He ignored the connection way too much and when he felt that he could just turn and ignore the pain of his master, the pain would follow him and make him live it as if it was his own. He was forced to save his master's life if not for loyalty, for mere convenience. Even if the flame fed off his struggle, Loki was not willing to go through unnecessary suffering just because of his pride.

It wasn't worth it.

Loki descended into a state of acceptance, knowing how strange yet not completely hopeless his situation was. He learned to cope, to understand and to deal with his situation as the scenarios presented themselves to him.

He couldn't lie to his master, but he could keep silence unless asked. He couldn't make his master do what he wanted but he could twist words and plant seeds that would eventually work in his favor. In other words, he learned to make his way around his contract so he could live in less misery. There were times when he even enjoyed himself.

As time turned and mortals evolved their sense of morals and rights, things also changed for Loki. There were lifetimes where his master in turn didn't make of him a slave but a companion and he felt appreciation for the bloodline he was to serve. He was there when it morphed from one name to another to Stark, finding it interesting how the branches of blood connected in between time and history.

Loki found himself amused by the twists and turns of the history he was taking part in, but never forgot why he was in it. At night he would look to the stars and remember Asgard, wishing her to be safe.

The Flame danced, stronger as the time passed, and eventually Loki also danced with it.

 

\---------------  
Part VI  
\---------------

Tony's eyes were fixed on the melting ice cubes of his drink. He had more or less gotten himself a drink in the middle of the story and another one for Loki later on. The trickster had accepted it gladly and now they were sharing the silence.

"So," Tony took a sip of his drink, searching for Loki's eyes, "you have a mystical flame feeding from your suffering."

"It sounds much more morbid when you put it that way."

"The flame needs for you to experience very strong emotions, similar to dying and starting again to feed from your will to do so, so yes, it is morbid and insane and I totally believe it because, come on, you're here."

Loki shrugged, "The flame is getting stronger, but I still need more time, the task is not quite done."

"Loki..."

"I... I'm starting to think I will never succeed," he said in a low, resigned voice. "I might never see home again."

Tony didn't know how to respond to that. He couldn't offer Loki words of reassurance or physical confort, not yet anyway.

"Do they know?"

Loki blinked a couple of times, as if coming back from a faraway place from his mind. "Excuse me?"

"Your family, do they know you're here?"

"Well..." he made a face, "Heimdall is supposed to be all seeing... but I have not heard from them since the day I... I do not know if they truly are oblivious to my situation or if they simply don't care."

"They sound like they care."

"I attacked Odin and essentially stole the Eternal Flame."

"Yes...But you were trying to help Asgard, they should know that."

"I... suppose..."

"Can you contact them?" Tony was on his feet immediately, moving restlessly, making possible plans and having a brainstorm. "It's been way too much time without seeing them."

"I... tried to call for Heimdall several times... Sufficient to say, I didn't get an answer."

"Damn," Tony cursed under his breath and got himself another drink, pacing from side to side.

"I told you… you can't help me."

"Nah, of course I will."

"Tony..."

"No, no, don't talk back to me, I'm going to help you, because I want to and you need it and I've been too much of a jerk to you in recent years. I must do this."

Loki gave him a look that clearly stated he doubted Tony's sanity again. Tony himself knew he sounded stubborn and unreasonable, considering he had no idea how to accomplish what wanted to do for Loki.

He stopped for a moment and said, "What if I call the guy?"

"You're not making sense--"

"No, hear me out, what if I call for that Heimdall dude?"

Loki looked annoyed. "What difference would it make?"

"I don't know, you're the one with magic mojo! What if the contract doesn't let you call for him or something? Who knows! We might as well try."

The trickster stood in silence for a moment and thought about it. 

"Nothing to lose, I suppose..."

"Now we're talking!"

Loki tried his best to not smile at that, but he did felt a little better by hearing Tony's intentions.

\-----

"This is not going to work." Loki folded his arms over his chest and looked at the view from the top of the Mansion while Tony looked around.

"You're such an inspiration; your words bring such reassurance to me!" mocked Tony. "Then again, you want this to work, don't you?"

"Yes, but hoping has rarely given me favorable results, I would rather spare myself the disappointment."

"Oh come on, I'm the one who broods here, not you! You are tricks and giggles and other things nice and good that Pepper praises so much."

"Oh joy."

"Stop it, seriously."

Loki rolled his eyes and now really looked annoyed, "Stark, I'm really not in the mood for another disappointment."

"Come on, this is like performance testing!"

"I have no idea what 'performance testing' means," Loki pointed out, making Tony pause for a second.

"It's a variety of tests done to a product before its release," he said. "Basically, it means we have to do it to see if it works or not."

Tony finally settled over a spot on the roof, near the center and looked at the afternoon sky. Loki closed his eyes and sighed, not wanting to see how it will not work.

"Hey!" Tony shouted, "Heimdall! Dude! I have Loki here with me and it has been several centuries already, checking in is necessary by now!"

Loki couldn't help but glare at Tony for his choice of words, even more so because nothing was happening. Tony yelled Heimdall's name again, and Loki gritted his teeth in anger.

"Stark, just stop already!"

Tony glared at him and Loki did the same, "I'm trying to help you!"

"You are just making things wor—"

The sky suddenly shimmered in a twist of clouds and light, as if a storm had formed from nowhere in mere seconds. A pillar of light descended from it and landed a few feet from Tony, in the center of the roof, and when the light disappeared, Loki felt his heart stop.

Tony looked confused and pleased at the same time as he watched the tall blond guy open his eyes to look at them.

Loki took a shaky step forward, his arms falling to his side and his voice caught in his throat.

"Loki," said the newcomer, "It's so good to see you, brother."

"Thor..."


	7. Chapter 7

\---------------  
Part VII  
\---------------

It was strange for such an intense moment to present itself before his eyes in a shape and form that somehow resembled the dreams Loki had many years ago buried deep down into his mind, an image that was to spark all kinds of emotions in him at once represented in the face of his brother. But oddly enough, Loki was still as calm water, just staring ahead of him with a blank expression on his face.

Loki doubted it was possible to feel so many emotions at once, that your being will simply shut down to feel none as defense. Surely not even deities were capable of feeling so much at once.

His current predicament was a clear example of that, for he had just shut down, staring ahead of him with nothing but a blank stare, though it didn't seem to bother Thor at all. Tony on the other hand was shuffling awkwardly from one foot to another, looking from Loki to Thor and back while wondering if something was eventually going to happen and if he was standing in the line of fire or not.

Thor took his little brother's lack of reaction as a sign to proceed with his greeting. Stepping closer to Loki, Thor placed a hand on the nape of Loki's neck and gently brought their foreheads together.

"I have missed you," Thor said softly, "I thought you dead... or worse."

Loki blinked several times to rid the trance that had come over him, gently letting his weight rest lightly on his brother's frame, pressing their foreheads a little bit harder on his side and letting go of the deep breath he had been unconsciously holding.

"I..."

He felt lightheaded. There was a steady low sound in his ears, a ringing that was bothering him a great deal. Loki held Thor's wrist over his neck to return the gesture and smiled to himself before his knees buckled and he found himself in his brother's hold with Tony worryingly looming over them.

It seemed that he was indeed capable of feeling everything at once after all. His emotions stirred and the Flame with them, it was growing, dancing, singing and it was taking everything out of Loki for it.

The sound was distant and not very clear. Loki knew he was about to pass out, vaguely wondering why, for he had been fine until a few moments ago. Still, he welcomed the feeling of floating and the ending of that wretched ringing sound in his ears. He felt Tony worry for him and Thor preventing his body from hitting the ground and let himself go.

The Flame was... happy? It felt strange, but Loki didn't fear the reason. 

He was safe.

\-----

Asgard burned, but it was not consume. The golden city stood and after a long and terrible battle, the enemies of Asgard were forced from the city. 

The lights of the Bifrost surrounded Surtur and forced him from Asgard, into Muspelheim, but he was not alone. He had to answer for the loss to the royal family and they were not going to let this pass lightly.

The All-Mother stood proud and strong, for she was the feminine face of Asgard, the strength of the woman, the most of fierce of protectors... Frigga was a mother who had lost her child and that made her the most dangerous of creatures across the universe. 

Odin stood close, for he was the King of Asgard, the force of warriors and the proud face that represents his kingdom. But Odin was also a father, one that had made a mistake and lost a child as consequence and now, along his wife, he would charge retribution.

"Your kingdom will be lost." Surtur's voice was even, calm if anything else. "You took the heart of my people, I shall take yours."

"No," Frigga said, curtly and firm, "the Eternal Flame is not even the Heart of the children of Muspell, it is a bright light, important, but not a heart."

"You are using the grief of Muspelheim over their lost treasure for yourself!" Odin stated as a matter of fact.

It was no secret to them that The Flame held power, but power that reacted and burned with more than the heat of fire when the Flame was near Surtur's sword, Twilight. It was knowledge the All-Father and the All-Mother kept to themselves, hence the reason The Flame had been kept safe, until now.

Surtur narrowed his eyes, gripping his sword tight in his hand. Odin had his own firm grip of Gungnir while Frigga still had her sword in her scabbard, yet her strike would be deadly if needed.

Behind them, at a reasonable distance, Thor stood with Mjolnir in his hand, waiting as was requested of him. The skies were grey and the thunder could be heard every now and then, but the sky did not cry, not anymore.

Surtur snarled in rage and Twilight's strike was aimed at Frigga, who quickly avoided the hit of the massive sword, moving as if she was dancing, already knowing what the next movement would be, her gaze cold and calculating.

Frigga whispered as her hands unsheathed her sword and the blade shone with an unnatural brightness as she cut through the air and sent a wind blade in Surtur's direction, stamping against Twilight's attack and making the fire giant stumble and take a few steps back.

Odin tapped Gungnir hard against the ground, making it change and swirl like quicksand under Surtur's feet. In defense Surtur plunged Twilight in the ground to grip it firmly, preventing his own self from sinking.

"Your child will not survive, for the contract I have bound him to will burn his will and fate until not even the scattered ashes remain!"

Frigga's expression changed, showing her concern and worry as she glanced over Odin, who was holding onto his power to repel Surtur back to the under kingdom of Muspelheim. The All-Father narrowed his eyes.

"You..."

"The Eternal Flame was dying," Surtur snapped, "You were killing it!"

Odin did not deny it. "You do not want to return it to the people of Muspelheim... you want it for yourself, as you have said before!"

Surtur kept silent for a moment before a laugh bubbled up his chest and he openly laughed at Odin and Frigga, as if mocking them, although they spoke true.

"Yet, the Flame searched for another that could protect it... I only took advantage of it, and even if I am to be defeated, All-Father, I have taken with me something important: your child, All-Mother. I have stolen him from his home."

"How dare you!" Frigga hissed in anger. "You used the children of Muspell, you dare to use my child!"

"Seeing the grief of Asgard was more than worth it..."

And Surtur laughed. He did so as Odin's magic sealed him deep within the rock and fire of Muspelheim. He laughed as his people were lost and separated in the battle against Asgard. But more than anything, he laughed because even though he failed to crush Asgard and retake the Eternal Flame for himself, he had damaged and shattered the royal family like no other had done before and that brought him a deep tainted satisfaction.

A Prince of Asgard, by affection if not by blood, made a slave of mortals as the fire that favored him consumed him from the inside.

Surtur would mark this as one of his finest victories, even in his apparent defeat.

He was not far from wrong.

\-----

"What's wrong with him?"

Tony was worried, he couldn't hide that fact. He felt something strange deep within his bones alongside an uncomfortable sting in his left hand over the rune that marked him as Loki's master. 

"I do not know." The answer was soft and yet Tony could read the worry and fear for a loved one in it. This man, Thor, really cared for Loki.

Thor placed his brother's unconscious form on the bed that Tony guided him to. The sudden event had revived the worry Thor had held since the moment Heimdall came to the palace with the news of a mortal calling for them with news of Loki. It had been a small, almost non-existent hope of his to arrive and see his brother, so when Loki was indeed there, he felt a happiness he had not felt in centuries. But now the worry was back as his brother's face paled and there was no apparent reason for it.

"I... hum... you know about the contract, right?"

Thor stood tall over Tony, who refused to back off, even if Thor did appear intimidating. 

"Yes, we were informed by our Gate Keeper of the details after it occurred, however, we had not heard anything of him ever since, for something hid him from our view."

Heimdall had been looking for Loki since that fateful day, finding only strange traces but no real word of him, nothing that could clearly guide them to him, not until now.

Loki's breathing grew difficult. He seemed to gasp for air every now and then, his skin felt too hot and even if Tony was no expert he knew this was not a normal fever. Loki was also clawing at his chest until Thor gently held his hands down.

"Something is very wrong," Tony mumbled. The sting of the rune was now even more uncomfortable; the skin felt hot and Tony himself felt uneasy.

"I'm afraid I cannot tend him here. I have no knowledge of medicine, but my mother and Eir do, they might be able to help."

Thor was not listening to Tony, he just took his brother into his arms and marched outside again.

"Wait, wait, you can't just leave!" Tony followed him outside. "Come on!"

"You shall accompany me," he stated, "for you know of this situation to more detail than anyone else except for Loki himself."

"Excuse me?"

The light of the Bifrost covered them and Tony didn't have time to scream as he was, literally, snatched from earth.

\-----

The Eternal Flame was burning bright and it was too much for Loki to hold.

Fire had always been his fascination. he could hear it sing and loved watching it dance, at least he did, once.

He forgot how much he had loved the fire a long time ago, when his existence became servitude, his fascination morphed into dread and his passion changed to hate.

But it was just a thin layer of his shell, the one he built around himself to not let his being be completely consumed by the fire. That shell broke when Thor stood before him and he could feel his brother's love for him, his genuine love, something he thought lost.

The Flame fed from his joy and it burned like never before, suddenly recovering the life that had been lost to the dark magic the All-Father had used to placate it.

Loki stood in a field that only existed in his mind, the Flame in his hands, and Asgard was no longer burning.

This was the dream he always wanted to have and yet it felt incomplete.

Something was missing.

The Flame burned his hands and consumed him in fire and through all this Loki could only wonder if he had done something wrong, again.

He closed his eyes and his skin flushed blue as he called the ice to him to balance the fire, and as he recovered control and held the Flame in his hands once again he looked up to Asgard.

"I want to go home..."

The hope he had long lost came back when he laid his eyes on Thor's smile and he refused to let it go.

"I want to go home."

It had been centuries now, he had suffered and cried. He had been unmade and redone, and he was tired.

"I want to go home!"

He was not giving up; he was fighting, as he should have done a long time ago.

The feeling consumed him but not entirely, not when the Flame was almost restored and Loki was controlling it. He was making it burn, making it be bright so he could be free.

When Loki closed his eyes, concentrating on the fire, he could hear it sing to him again and smiled.

\-----

Loki was screaming in his sleep, his mind too clouded by whatever mystical pain was attacking him to find proper rest in the care of Frigga and Eir.

Tony observed him. It seemed the strange attacks were waves which Loki was able to ride with strength, sometimes falling, but whatever was happening, he always got through it in the end.

As he saw Loki fall and rise against an enemy that was within him, Tony reflected on the last few months of his life.

Asgard was not rejecting her second prince... Loki was welcomed home after all.

Tony felt selfish for wanting that to be a lie, so he could keep Loki to himself. It was after this thought that he understood how wrong he was about this whole thing.

When Odin asked him for his aid in helping Loki, he did so, but not without doubts, no. Tony doubted every single step he took, but he was still taking them.

In the end, that was what mattered, or so he told himself.

\-----

Loki's fever broke after the fourth day and his sleep finally was a calm one.

Tony kissed him on the lips while he slept and did not cry.

He was not going to cry.

Tony was doing the right thing and that should be enough.

Too bad that sometimes the right thing and the hardest thing are the same.

"Karma is a bitch."

\-----

Loki slowly opened his eyes, finding himself in the arms of his mother, who was looking at him with a smile and tears in her eyes. His father stood close, his hands clasping Loki's. They felt warm and familiar and Loki noticed he was in his jotun form and that Odin and Frigga could touch him nonetheless, maybe because he wanted them to.

"Mother..." he said in a whisper, "Father..."

Thor was at the other side of the bed and Tony was beside him, looking awkward and out of place in his Midgarian clothes, yet ignoring everything but Loki.

Loki felt the heat of the Flame and his hand went to his chest as he forced it to manifest outside him. 

It took a great effort to do so, but with a cry and Frigga's confident hand on his shoulder he was able to do so. Odin nodded at him in approval and Loki placed the Flame in Odin's hands.

"Welcome home, my son."

Loki felt faint but slowly managed to regain his senses, his skin flushed back to peach and his eyes changed to green and suddenly there was a burn in his wrist that he had felt before, long ago. 

Tony was at his side next, holding his hands, the rune in his arm burning as were those around Loki's wrists.

"You got your contract fulfilled, didn't you?"

"I don't know," Loki said sincerely, "I didn't know if there was a way for it to be fulfilled."

"Hmmm, I think you did," Tony said softly, "Be free, ok?"

The runes broke and suddenly Loki couldn't feel Tony's heart breaking anymore. He wanted to say something, yet he was too stunned to do so.

He was home, he was free and it felt strange and almost wrong.

Tony didn't let go of his hands as unconsciousness claimed him again and Loki was fine with that. 

He felt strangely empty.

\-----

When they arrived at Asgard Tony had a long talk with Odin. He explained to him everything he knew about the contract that bound Loki to serve him, every single detail. He did so not because it was the King of Asgard questioning him, but because this was Loki's father wanting to help his son.

Tony never claimed to be a good person, but he owed Loki this one.

It was strange that Odin found how to break the contract faster than any of them. But he only did so because Loki himself had actually fulfilled his end of the deal. The Eternal Flame was alive again, strong and burning Loki from the inside. 

Odin proclaimed he was going to make the Eternal Flame leave his son's body, but Loki seemed to be handling the situation by himself just fine. It was almost surreal and yet so very Loki...

Tony smiled; of course Loki would find the strength to prove them wrong just to annoy them if nothing else.

Odin mentioned that if the Flame was not inside Loki, then the contract was a normal master-and-servant contract and that Tony had the last word in it.

Of course he chose to let Loki go, even if he didn't want to.

He wasn't a good person and he had done wrong in sealing Loki away once; he was not going to make the same mistake twice.

If he was doing the right thing, why did he felt so low?

Tony sighed, done was done and he wouldn't change it, not even if fate gave him the option.

He was not a good person, but he was not a bad one either.

At least, that's what he liked to think.

\-----

When Loki woke up, Tony was gone.

The human, his former master, returned to his realm without him, not even saying goodbye, as if nothing had happened.

He wasn’t that surprised. Loki understood that sometimes, leaving was the only way.

So he looked over the star above Asgard and wondered if he was capable of accepting that.

He knew the answer even before asking the question, so he found no reason to question the steps that took him back to the palace.

He required time to heal and recover, but once that was done he would go to earth and have proper closure.

Loki Odinson would not be discarded by a mere mortal, not if he could help it. 

And Loki could and he will, in time. 

For now, it was time to restore the life he thought lost.

 

\---------------  
Epilogue  
\---------------

Two years after Loki's departure and Tony's life experiencing a ground-shaking change, another enemy came to stand between Tony and the more or less stable life he had.

Vanko was vicious and it took him more than he thought he had in him to defeat him. He also fought to keep his life and defend others.

Tony vaguely wondered if his father knew about the poison itself or he simply understood Tony was going to need this element someday to save his life, because Loki wouldn't be able to do it.

He wondered what would have happened if Loki was still in his servitude while the palladium poison consumed him. He imagined Loki would have taken the poison and endured the pain for him as he had done before and of course that wouldn't be fair. His relationship with Loki had rarely been.

It was for that very same reason that he left him in Asgard two years ago, when he still had the chance. He knew that otherwise he would have been the one laying broken under the retribution of a vengeful deity; after all, even if Tony had made amends and helped Loki get home, he had also hurt him so badly that he still had trouble understanding what he was thinking when he did it.

Tony liked to think that the person he was – the person that preferred to lock away someone in a fit of jealousy – died in that cave in Afghanistan. He liked to think that several good things came from that dreadful experience.

He was a better person now and he had made of his father's legacy something good again. He still laughed, still fooled around and had an ego of the size of Texas.

He still wasn't a good person, but he was better than he used to be.

Small steps, at least in his scale, that had to be better than nothing.

When Fury asked him to be part of the Avengers Initiative, he did so not because he liked the idea, but because he thought it could work as the next step in his slow but steady road to be a better person.

This proved to be way more difficult than he expected. 

He fought with Steve Rogers more often than not. It was stupid, he liked the guy, but he was just too good and that annoyed Tony. He was acting like a spoiled brat and he knew it, but Steve was patient and took whatever Tony threw at him and sent it right back.

It was like a love-hate relationship. He was working on it.

Bruce Banner was another story. He really liked the guy and Bruce liked him too. They became friends and wasn't that weird? Tony genuinely could say Bruce was his friend, and it felt good to have one, besides good old Rhodey, who to this day still put up with his idiocy. Bless the guy for that.

Natasha and Clint, he liked those two and he had the firm idea they constantly came up with new ways to work with him, even if Natasha keep on glaring at him with the cold of Antarctica and Clint developed a great number of jokes aimed specially towards him. 

He liked to taunt them both and they taunted him in return. It was weird and it worked. He knew when, in a mission, his arc reactor got damaged, it was Clint who helped him to control his panic attack and Natasha who fetched him the new one.

It took a lot of time for Tony to conclude that these people - Pepper, Rhodey, Nat, Bruce, Clint, Steve - they made him better.

The thought scared him, but it also made him cling to them even more, in his way.

Life goes on.

\-----

When the light of the bifrost faded, Loki found himself looking at the Midgard's ocean once again. He had landed on Tony's Malibu mansion's roof as Thor had done two years before.

Thor stood by his side, as he had done since they were reunited. Loki was getting a little tired of his brother's over-protective phase but he didn't exactly dislike it. He once felt he would never see him again, let alone be suffocated by his care.

It was a silly little feeling, he knew, but he liked it.

It didn't take much time for Tony to arrive and with him a response team that had not been with him the last time Loki saw him. He thought it would be hard to read Tony now that Loki couldn't feel his emotions; it was a strange surprise that he didn't need to, for they were plain as daylight on his face.

"Anthony," he said evenly.

"Loki," Tony answered, voice a little shaky, "I didn't expect to see you again."

"Well, I’m not going to apologize for not reaching your expectations."

There was a tense silence after that, but it was broke after a second, when Loki chuckled at Tony's face.

There were introductions and it was Coulson who handled everything in a very diplomatic way. Loki remembered him. Coulson had thought he was Howard's son, once, though now that he knew better, it changed nothing. He still treated Loki with respect and even some degree of affection. It was nice.

During the evening Thor and Loki exchanged words with SHIELD as princes of Asgard. 

Nothing exploded and no one died, so Loki considered his diplomatic visit a success, as did SHIELD.

\-----

It was late at night when Tony decided to confront Loki.

"Why did you come back?" he asked, direct to the point. He was not in the mood for pretending.

They were alone in the living room, Loki sitting on the couch looking towards the ocean and Tony standing near him. When the trickster finally looked at him, Tony felt small.

"Thank you," Loki said, "for helping me to go home."

"I..." he swallowed, "I guess I owed you that."

"Yes, but I still wanted to express my thanks."

It was true, in Loki's eyes, that Tony was responsible for getting him home, and he just didn't actually expect him to succeed in doing it.

Mortals would never cease to surprise him, apparently.

"You left without a word," Loki pointed out. "How rude of you."

Tony shifted awkwardly on his feet. "I thought it was better that way."

Loki sighed and closed his eyes.

"Because I cannot be truly yours?"

"Yeah..."

Not even with his will back could Loki give himself to Tony, not with everything that had happened between them. It made sense; some things could not and should not be overlooked. This was one of those.

Also, there was the thing that Loki would not tell him. The fear he was keeping to himself and occasionally to the mental healer that attended him on Asgard. Loki was afraid to belong to anyone ever again, to be a slave once more.

His healer, a very nice a competent woman much more skilled in the arts of medicine and magic aimed to cure than Loki himself, explained that this feeling was normal, even expected, the feeling of fear and stress after a traumatic event.

Loki didn't want to admit it, but he won't openly deny it either. Something was not quite right with him and it was a wound it would take a longer time to heal than a physical one.

Still, he wanted closure.

"I'm not sorry," he told Tony. "I cannot be."

"You don't have to be."

Loki shouldn't and didn't have to be sorry for not wanting to belong to him, he was not an object.

"You hurt me a lot." It was a statement. "But you also helped me gain my freedom back, for that I can be grateful."

Loki stood and without warning kissed Tony. It was desperate and strange, but Tony took it as a token of a 'maybe someday'. It was better than nothing.

When the kiss ended, they didn't feel so empty any more.

They both knew Loki had to go back to Asgard to heal and restore his life and Tony had to remain on Earth and continue his road to be a better person, but at least now they wouldn’t do so thinking bitterly of the other.

Some things couldn't be repaid... they would remained. They would look different, maybe wouldn't even resemble what they once were, but they would be better.

Sometimes, beginnings weren't simple and parting was harder than fighting, but it was the right thing and the results were worth it.

Maybe this was one of those times.

\---------------  
The End  
\---------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Afterwords:
> 
> I believe that some things cannot simply be overlooked, but I also believe time is a great healer. In this case that is what ultimately both Tony and Loki need, time, for there were things said a done that hurt too deep to be immediately forget, but there was also things that balanced the hurt and allowed thing to not exactly be fixed (I think it cannot be “fixed”) but start again and that now learning from the past, and that in my opinion, makes them grow. 
> 
> Thank you to my awesome beta, Dunicha, for all her support and everyone who read this story and shared their opinion of it with me.
> 
> See you next time!
> 
> Yersi Fanel  
> February 28, 2013.  
> MTY, Mexico.


End file.
